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The Manufacture 
of Tomato Products 



INCLUDING 



Whole Tomato Pulp or Puree, 
Tomato Catsup, Chili Sauce, 
Tomato Soup, Trimming Pulp 



BY 

W. G. HIER 

Technologist in the Canning and Preserving of 
Tomato Products 



Formerly Chief Chemist and District Factory Supervisor of 
The T. A. Snider Preserve Co. of Chicago 




Published by 

W. G. HIER 

2324 South Columbine Street 

Denver, Colorado 






COPYRIGHT 1919 

BY 

W. G. HIER 



JUL -5 lui<* 



DENVER 

THE BROCK-HAFFNER PRESS CO.. PRINTERS 

1919 



530079 



I 



Preface 



The past ten years have seen revolutionary changes made 
in the tomato product manufacturing business. Old methods of 
making tomato pulp, catsup, chili sauce, etc. have been dis- 
carded, and the modern plant presents a very striking contrast 
to the plant of former days. 

In this book I have tried to present all the methods used 
which have merit, and to bring forth the advantages and dis- 
advantages of each so that the packer can weigh them and decide 
which is best to use under the conditions which obtain at his 
plant. In some cases one method is universally applicable and 
has advantages which stamp it as superior, but more often 
varying conditions of manufacture in different localities make 
it impossible to recommend any one method for everyone. 

In writing the text I have had to rely almost entirely on 
the experience gained during the seven years in which I have 
been engaged in the manufacture of these products, as there are 
no books on the subject, and no sources of reference except the 
bulletins prepared by Mr. B. J. Howard and Mr. C. H. Stephenson 
of the Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, on 
the sorting and washing of tomatoes, the handling of tomato 
trimmings, and the effect of proper and improper sorting and 
washing on the content of micro-organisms as determined by 
microscopical examination. 

I wish to thank Mr. B. J. Howard of the Bureau of Chemistry 
for the valuable suggestions and information he gave me with 
reference to portions of the text of Chapter II and Chapter VII, 
and also to thank the Bureau of Chemistry for permission to use 
many of their photomicrographs and photographs. 

W. G. HIER. 
April 22, 1919. 



[iii] 



PART I 



The Manufa&ure of Whole 

Tomato Pulp or 

Puree 



Table of Contents 



PART I 

THE MANUFACTURE OF WHOLE TOMATO 
PULP OR PUREE 

PAGE 

Chapter I. Obtaining Good Tomato Stock 1 

Value of good tomato stock — plant raising — use of 
fertilizer — methods in east and west — shipping tomatoes 
— tomato crates — degrees of ripeness for shipping — 
careful handling at factory — varieties — storing tomatoes 
— stemless tomatoes. 

Chapter II. Washing and Sorting 8 



Washing and sorting equipment — rotary washer — 
water bath with compressed air — importance of agita- 
tion — plain sorting belt — number of sorters — tomato 
turning device — divided sorting belt — sorting — forms of 
decay — cleanliness of equipment — molds, yeasts and 
spores, and bacteria. 

Chapter III. Principal Methods in Use for 

Pulping 20 

Cold pulping — care of cyclone — hot pulping — advan- 
tages claimed for hot pulping — objections to hot process 
— crushing — conveying to kettle — value of pumice. 

Chapter IV. Condensing the Strained or 

Crushed Tomatoes 26 

Vacuum pan — types of open kettles — steam pressure 
— copper jacketed kettles — tinning kettles — advantages 
of various types of kettles — glass lined tank — cypress 
tank — cleaning kettles — coil leaks — starting the cook- 
ing — methods of gauging finishing point — cooking to 
gauge on kettle — cooking a definite length of time — 
determining specific gravity by weight — objections to 
weighing method — testing with hydrometer — method 
of using hydrometer — finishing the cook, 
[vii] 



Contents 



page 



Chapter V. Conveying the Condensed, Strained, 
or Crushed Tomatoes to the Finishing Ma- 
chine, and Finishing Same 38 

Conveying to finisher — receiving tanks — finishing — 
screen metal for finisher — effect of finishing on mold 
count — finishing before cooking. 

Chapter VI. Filling the Finished Pulp and 

Storing the Canned Product 41 

Filling devices for five gallons — square can and round 
can — testing for leaks — washing and steaming — filling 
and capping — handling filled cans — advantages of sep- 
arating batches — how to stack — processing — life of cans 
— washing and drying cans — protection from dust — 
testing used cans — packing No. 10's and No. l's — 
packing barrel pulp — metal drums — a method of pre- 
serving pulp in barrels. 

Chapter VII. The Micro-Organisms of Tomato 
Products; the Attitude of the Pltre Food 
Authorities Toward Them ; and the Interpre- 
tation of Analyses 51 

Micro-organisms; what they are — molds — bacteria — 
yeasts — spores — how germs retard their own growth — 
rapidity of growth — the government attitude on micro- 
organisms — government regulations — state food officials 
— checking up daily runs — how to interpret analyses. 



PART II 

THE MANUFACTURE OF TOMATOE CATSUP, CHILI 
SAUCE, TRIMMING PULP, AND TOMATO SOUP 

Chapter VIII. A Discussion of Preservative and 
Non -Preservative Catsups ; and the Most Fre- 
quent Cause of Inferiority 73 

Unfavorable publicity on preservatives — "natural" 
preservatives — proper acidity — processing catsups — 
advantage of benzoate catsups — causes of poor color 
and flavor — advantage of direct conversion of tomatoes 
into catsup — thickness — spicing and sweetness — "black 
neck" — general attractiveness. 



PAGE 



80 



Contents 

Chapter IX. A Discussion of the Ingredients of 
Catsup; When and How They Should Be 
Added; and the Amounts of Each per 100 
Gallons of Finished Catsup 

Measuring the volume of tomato juice— amount of 
tomatoes— keeping batches uniform— use of spices in 
a sack— use of spices direct and when to add them— 
use of spices in two batches— what is extracted— storing 
spices— quality of flavor— use of essential oils— how to 
add essential oils— paprika— quantities of spices and 
oils per batch — essential oils economical— adulteration 
of ground spices— onions and garlic— sugars— sugar 
syrups— use of sugar in large quantities— salt— vinegar 
—transference of vinegar— adding the vinegar— acidity 
—testing finishing point— holding batches— making 
catsup from pulp— use of benzoate of soda. 

Chapter X. Finishing, Bottling, Sterilizing, 

and Storing the Catsup 97 

The receiving tank and finisher— filling and sealing— 
washing the filled bottles— processing— advantages of 
omitting processing— process method— time and temper- 
ature — temperature controlling and recording devices 

non-process method— which method is the better?— 
labeling and casing— stacking catsup to avoid "black 
neck"— packing gallons and No. 10's. 

Chapter XI. The Manufacture of Chili Sauce 

and the Pulping of Tomato Trimmings 107 

Grading the tomatoes— method of handling tomatoes 
—amount of tomatoes and onions— spices— salt sugar 
and vinegar— testing finishing point— filling, sealing 
and sterilizing— microscopical counts— pulping the 
trimmings— government attitude on trimming pulp- 
method of handling tomatoes when trimmings are 
pulped. 

Chapter XII. The Manufacture of Tomato Soup 112 
Convenience and economy of canned soup— factors 
upon which success depends— unpalatability— proper 
sweetness— gradual souring of pulp— sampling— proper 
acidity— price and quality— microscopical counts— be- 
ginning the cook and adding soda— butter, onions, and 
spices— sugar and salt— testing thickness before adding 
flour— adding flour— filling and processing— shaking 
and labeling. 



CHAPTER I 

OBTAINING GOOD TOMATO STOCK 

Value of Good Tomato Stock 

Obtaining a good quality of tomatoes at a price which is not 
prohibitive is a problem which in many localities is becoming 
more difficult to canners and catsup makers' each year. Every 
experienced manufacturer knows that regardless of the expert- 
ness with which he may work up his tomatoes into the finished 
product, he cannot expect to get good quality unless he has good 
stock to begin with. It is true that by using intelligence and 
extreme care in the manufacturing processes one manufacturer 
will make better pulp or catsup from tomatoes of fair quality 
than another man can get from the best quality of stock. This 
same care and intelligence applied, however, in working up high 
quality tomatoes will probably show a greater difference in the 
finished products than was apparent in the tomatoes from which 
these products were made; in other words, the goodness of good 
tomatoes becomes accentuated by the manufacturing process. 

In order to insure as large a proportion as possible of good 
quality stock, as well as a good yield per acre in tonnage, manu- 
facturers are each year realizing the necessity of closer co-opera- 
tion with the farmer. Where in growing tomatoes under con- 
tract it was formerly largely up to the farmer to buy his seed 
and raise his plants and set them out, it is now the usual custom 
to supply the farmer with seed of the desired variety and of high 
germination test, and in many cases to go a step farther and 
supply him with plants six to eight inches high, ready for setting 
out in the field. Unquestionably, the best results are secured by 
growing the plants for the farmer. The average farmer does not 
go about the raising of his plants in an intelligent way, and he 
will not devote the time to the plant-raising business that it 
should have. 

Plant Raising 

Most packers are agreed that the best plant is raised by 
starting the seeds in rows in hot beds, transplanting to cold 

[1] 



2 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

frames when they are two to four inches high to harden them 
and make them stocky, and again transplanting to the field when 
the plants are six to eight inches high. This method produces 
a dark green, bushy, thick-stemmed plant of high vitality, which 
is so essential to a good yield. What a contrast to the average 
plant raised by the farmer — the seed often broadcasted, either In 
a hot bed or in a spot in the garden where the soil has not been 
specially prepared for plant raising, and when the plants, a 
large number of which are thin, pale green, and spindly looking, 
attain a height of anywhere from six inches to a foot they are 
all set out in the field and allowed to struggle along as best they 
can. When one looks at the kind of plants that are so often 
set out he can see at least one reason why yields of from three 
to seven tons per acre are so often obtained from ground which 
should yield twice that much, and why the plants are easy 
victims to blight and other diseases. 

A prominent canner recently told me that by raising the 
plants for his farmers he had increased the average yield 4 
tons per acre. 

Use of Fertilizer 

So many articles have been written on tomato culture for 
canning plants by experienced horticulturists that the subject 
will not be dealt with extensively here. In these articles em- 
phasis is usually laid on the desirability of the use of commer- 
cial fertilizer, not only to increase the yield, but to hasten the 
maturing of the crop so that a large proportion of it can be 
harvested before frost. 

My experience testifies to the wisdom of this in practically 
all cases, and with late maturing varieties such as the Stone 
tomato, in regions subject to early frost, and especially where 
planted on low ground, it is absolutely essential that fertilizer 
be used if a good percentage of the crop is to be harvested. 

Methods in East and West 

In the Tri-States — that is, Delaware, Maryland, and New 
Jersey — quite a different situation exists from that in the middle 
west or far west. The western packer has practically all of his 
tomatoes grown under contract, while the Tri-State packer, 
although he tries to contract as much acreage or tonnage as 
possible at a reasonable figure, is up against the competitive 
buying of the open market for a large proportion of his raw 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 3 

stock, as there are always a large number of farmers who are 
willing to gamble that the coming season will be a good one for 
playing the open market. In this case the buyer usually cannot 
be as particular about the quality of the tomatoes he buys 
as can the packer who has his tomatoes all grown under contract 
at a specified price, and who can exercise supervision over his 
farmers. This is particularly true in seasons of short crop, when 
the grower sells his tomatoes on the market and can afford to 
be very independent, and buyers are wildly forcing up the price 
by competitive bidding, and taking whatever they can get. Even 
if the eastern grower is under contract for his entire crop, if the 
crop is short, and high prices are prevailing on the market, it is 
the exceptional grower who will live up to his contract, and often 
to get an excuse for breaking his contract he will deliver very 
poor tomatoes right along in the hope that they will be objected 
to, thus giving him the liberty of disposing of them elsewhere. 
The eastern packer, however, is blessed with a longer season 
in which to operate. While in the west there are seldom enough 
tomatoes to justify a run at the factory before August 15th, the 
Tri-States packer starts in on the early crop about the 25th of 
July, and his crop is not as liable to be severely injured by an 
early frost as is the western crop. 

Canning and preserving plants in the west, being scattered 
rather sparsely over a very large territory, and being farther 
away from the large centers of population than in the east, the 
western packer is able to get a large percentage of his tomatoes 
hauled to the factory by wagon. This is indeed a big advantage, 
not only in the saving of freight and handling expense, but in 
the condition of the fruit when delivered to the factory. Prob- 
ably having been picked not more than twenty-four hours before 
delivery, the wagon-hauled tomatoes are solid, and because the 
skin is not broken by repeated handling, thus preventing the 
growth of molds, they require very little sorting, in fact, no 
sorting at all in some cases. A load of tomatoes which requires 
no sorting at all, however, is unusual. If the packer can get 
his growers to use spring wagons for hauling tomatoes, it is a 
big advantage, especially if the fruit must be held any length 
of time at the factory. If the wagon-hauled tomatoes can be 
worked up quickly the packer gets 100 per cent value for them, 
which he very seldom does get on shipped tomatoes, which com- 
monly undergo a loss of between 5 and 20 per cent in shipment 
depending upon the time involved in shipment, the ripeness 
of the fruit, the amount of handling it received, the condition 



4 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

of the weather, the kind of crate in which the fruit is packed, 
and the amount of ventilation it received in transit. 

Shipping Tomatoes 

Shipment by water, although slow, has the advantage of 
smoothness of transit, and the crates or baskets of tomatoes 
are not subjected to the frequent joltings of rail shipments, and 
it is to be remembered that every jolt makes the tomatoes settle 
to a certain extent in the crates and mashes the tomatoes in the 
bottom layers. The best car for rail shipments is the slatted car 
or stock car, which permits of better circulation than any of 
the other types. A box car should never be used, as it allows 
the fruit to heat very badly, and there is no circulation of air. 
The crates in the slatted cars should be so stacked as to allow as 
much circulation of air through the car as possible. However, 
care must be taken that the crates are so stacked that they 
will not shift. A small air space can always be left at the end 
of every other row on each side without endangering the sta- 
bility of the crates, and a large air space can be left at the top. 

Tomato Crates 

One advantage in the use of the basket over the crate in ship- 
ments is the advantage of better circulation of air through the 
piled baskets of fruit, due to the conical shape of the basket. 
Good ventilation is thus supplied without danger of the baskets 
shifting during shipment. The %-bushel basket is used almost 
universally in the east, while in the west the crate holding a 
bushel is the common container. The construction of the crate 
is a more important item than is often thought. The most 
important point, of course, is strength in construction, and the 
use of a wood which will not warp easily by alternate soaking 
and drying out, allowing the nails to become loose and the bot- 
toms to begin to fall out of the crates after a half season's use. 
The slats of the crates should have rounded, smooth edges so 
as not to cut the surface of the tomatoes when they are jolted 
and weighted down during shipment. The slats should be only 
close enough together to hold the small tomatoes, so as to permit 
of as much air circulation as possible. This particularly applies 
to the bottom of the crates, which become soggy and musty after 
a little use, and the openings soon become clogged up with 
tomato substance. It is important to turn a steam hose over 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 5 

the bottoms of such crates to clean them out before returning 
to the point of shipment. If the empty crates pass along on a 
chain belt after dumping, this steaming can be accomplished 
easily. Accumulated decaying tomato substance in the bottom 
slats not only rots out the crates, but contaminates otherwise 
good tomatoes every time the crate is used. The crate should 
also be as shallow as will permit of easy handling, so as to dis- 
tribute the weight of the tomatoes over as much surface as pos- 
sible. A shallow, broad crate is preferable to a deep, narrow 
one. 

Degrees of Ripeness for Shipping 

The proper degree of ripeness for tomatoes to be shipped 
depends, of course, upon the length of time it will take for them 
to arrive at their destination. Dead-ripe tomatoes will stand very 
little handling and shipping, particularly if the weather is warm 
and damp, as it so frequently is during tomato season. It is im- 
portant, too, not to have the tomatoes delivered to the shipping 
station too underripe, as they are very apt to rot before they 
become red enough to cook up into a product of good color. That 
the employe in charge of receiving tomatoes at the shipping point 
should be a man of experience and good judgment as well as tact 
in dealing with the farmers, is apparent. So much depends upon 
the control he exercises over the farmers in getting them to pick 
their fruit at the proper degree of ripeness. If he falters, is 
uncertain, and changes his mind a few times, he is lost, as the 
farmers soon lose confidence in his judgment. 

It is always difficult to impress upon the farmer the fact 
that tomatoes gain in weight during the ripening process, and 
the riper they have their tomatoes the more they get in dollars 
when they drive up on the scales. This argument cannot be 
advanced when the tomatoes are bought by the basket, as they 
are in the east, but when paid for according to weight and not 
volume, the ripeness of his tomatoes is an important point for 
the farmer to watch. At the tail end of the season when frosts 
are threatening, this argument of the increased weight of to- 
matoes which are red ripe all over of course loses its effect 
entirely. All the farmer is interested in at that time is in getting 
as many of his tomatoes as possible accepted before a heavy 
frost finishes them. At this time increased vigilance at the 
receiving end is necessary. 



6 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

Careful Handling at Factory 

The less handling crates or baskets of tomatoes receive, the 
better. Every packer wants to eliminate handling as much as 
possible to conserve labor, but when one sees the laborers around 
the average plant heaving crates of tomatoes around as though 
they were pig iron, he wonders if the manager fully realizes the 
effect of this bouncing of heavy crates of tomatoes on to trucks, 
receiving platforms, etc. It is just as easy, or almost as easy, 
to set the crates down gently, but the laborers who do this work 
must be constantly reminded of it. You do get tired of constantly 
hammering at them, but it is surely worth the effort. A common 
attitude for the men to take is that the tomatoes are all going 
to get mashed up anyway pretty soon, so what's the difference. 
When you consider the fact that crates of tomatoes are com- 
monly handled from six to eight times before they reach the 
sorting belt, this handling often consisting of dropping the crates 
down so hard that the top tomatoes almost bounce out, it is no 
wonder that when they are spread out on the sorting belt the 
bottom layer of each crate is mashed and moldy, so that half 
of these bottom tomatoes have to be thrown away. 

Varieties 

Any of the brilliant red varieties of tomatoes are suitable 
for catsup or pulp making. Those varieties having a purplish 
cast should be avoided, as they cook up into a product having 
a brownish color. The smooth, round varieties, such as the 
Stone, are especially good for peeling, while the flat varieties, 
and those having a very coarse, uneven surface, are well suited 
for pulp or catsup. 

Storing Tomatoes 

For storing the tomatoes at the factory until they can be 
put over the sorting belts the open-air storage is usel almost 
universally, and it seems to be the only method which can be 
economically employed at a plant which handles large quantities 
of tomatoes. I have seen the wet storage method in use at a 
small plant where the receipts only amount to a few hundred 
bushels a day on good days, and less than a hundred on many 
days when the weather is very bad, and it was liked very much 
by the plant manager. The tomatoes, as soon as received, were 
dumped into a large concrete tank of cold water, which was 
kept fairly fresh by letting fresh water run into it constantly, 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products - 7 

witli an overflow at the other side of the tank, and a large 
revolving paddle at one side of the tank kept the water 
motion. Attached to this paddle was a series of flights on an 
endless chain, which, when thrown into gear, carried the to- 
matoes to the sorting belt. 

The argument advanced in favor of the wet storage method 
by the operator of this plant was that at certain times in the 
season their receipts of tomatoes were very small, that is, at the 
beginning and at the close of the season, and during stretches 
of cold, rainy weather, and at such times they only made a run 
every other day, or possibly only twice a week, and that the 
tomatoes kept much better in wet storage. 

The tomatoes were clean when delivered to the sorting belt, 
and although they received very little sorting, and only one 
spraying after they left the storage tank, the count of molds, 
yeasts and spores and bacteria on their pu 7 p was fairly low. 

The wet storage method could undoubtedly be used at large 
plants, and might prove- profitable during periods of glut, as there 
is no doubt but what tomatoes will keep better in wet storage 
than in the open air. It would take a lot of tanks for a large 
plant, however, and large operators are not inclined to look 
favorably on the idea. 

In open-air storage the crates of tomatoes should be sta°berl 
so as to leave an air space between each crate, and if stacked 
inside of a building, all the windows and doors should be thrown 
open to allow as free a circulation of air as possible. 

Stemless Tomatoes 

Most tomatoes are delivered to the factory with the stems 
on, but I know of one plant where they are all received stemless, 
and the quality of the pulp made from them simply cannot be 
beat. There surely must be an undesirable taste imparted by all 
these green stems in the cooking process. Of course, where the 
cold pulping process is used, that is, the tomatoes pulped cold di- 
rectly after sorting and washing, these stems are eliminated 
before any cooking is done. In the hot pulping process, however, 
and when the tomatoes are put in a crusher instead of a pulp 
machine, the stems are cooked along with the rest of the pulp. 
The operator of the plant referred to above pays a bonus of a 
dollar a ton to his contractors for having the tomatoes delivered 
stemless, and he believes he gets that dollar back and more, too, 
in the price he gets for his product, which is very fancy. 



CHAPTER II 

WASHING AND SORTING 

Washing and Sorting Equipment 

A great many outfits for washing and sorting tomatoes have 
been placed on the market, some of which have many good points, 
and others are very inadequate. The type of washer best adapted 
to one plant may not be the best for another one. If tomatoes 
are grown on clay ground a friction washer is necessary, while 
for fruits grown on sandy soil it is very infrequent that much 
friction is needed to properly clean the tomatoes. 

As to sorting belts, as a rule one type will serve as well in 
one place as in another. A majority of the sorting belts used 
are subject to many criticisms; some are too narrow, some too 
short, some travel at a speed of 100 feet or more per minute, 
while others move as slowly as 10 feet per minute. The latter 
speed is much better than the former, although both are ex- 
tremes, 25 feet per minute being about right. 

Rotary Washer 

For tomatoes grown on clay ground the cylindrical rotary 
washer or squirrel cage type made of 1-inch mesh heavy wire 
is very satisfactory. When tomatoes come to the plant caked 
with clay, as they are after a hard rain followed by strong sun- 
shine, a friction washer of this type is about the only thing that 
will clean them. This type of washer also does excellent work 
on late tomatoes, and this applies to all localities. A large 
percentage of late tomatoes become deeply cracked at the stem 
end, and although these cracks, or fissures, usually appear to be 
healed over, an examination will generally reveal the presence 
of mold in them, and in many cases large tufts of mold like cot- 
ton completely filling them. By merely passing such tomatoes 
through a water bath, even though the water is thoroughly agi- 
tated by means of many inlets of compressed air, this imbedded 
mold will be scarcely affected. A rotary, heavy wire, reel washer, 
inclined at an angle of about 1 foot in 8, and rotating slowly, 
with a heavy, sharp spray of water striking the rolling tomatoes 

[8] 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 9 

from the time they are dumped in until they roll out, will take 
out a very large proportion of this mold, besides cleaning the 
entire surface of the tomato thoroughly. 

The washer should deliver about two bushels of tomatoes 
per minute to the sorting belt. As the wire cylinder revolves, 
the tomatoes are carried half way up the side and are then 
thrown back again, being carried slowly and steadily toward the 
outlet. A l^-inch pipe at the top of the cylinder, and running 
from end to end, with small holes bored at intervals of an inch, 
should direct a sharp, cutting shower of water on the tomatoes as 
they revolve and rub each other. A fine, sharp spray will accom- 
plish more than a less forceful but larger stream of water coming 
from a larger opening. The dirt, mold, etc. is washed through 
the wire mesh into a drip pan, and thence to the sewer. 

Some of the rotary washers used are of solid metal, and others 
constructed of wooden slats have been used. Both of these 
should be avoided, as the solid metal produces a sliding, instead 
of a rolling action, and the wooden slats mold quickly and become 
slimy. Also, some of the washers are slightly too narrow, and 
the tomatoes are so crowded while they are rotating that many 
of them do not come in contact with the wire, but merely roll 
on top of other tomatoes. Other washers are considerably wider 
than necessary. If the tomatoes are to be fed to the belt at 
the rate of 2 bushels per minute, a reel (squirrel cage) washer 
2 to 2y 2 feet in diameter, and about 8 feet long, having an in- 
clination of about 1 foot in 8, and revolving at about 20 revolu- 
tions per minute, will usually give satisfactory results. These 
are the figures recommended by Mr. Howard of the Bureau of 
Chemistry, who has made a very extensive study of the efficiency 
of rotary washers. 

By having the tomatoes thoroughly clean, with no mud and 
scarcely any mold adhering to the surface when they drop on 
the sorting belt, the amount of sorting required is not only 
greatly lessened, but the spots of black rot and other forms of 
decay show up prominently on the surface. 

It is important that the reel deliver the tomatoes to the sort- 
ing belt at a uniform rate, which is seldom done when the crates 
are dumped into the reel without any system of timing them. 
At present a hopper for feeding the reel is being experimented 
with, and it is hoped that it will be an improvement over the 
uncontrolled system that is now used. 

The chief objection made to the reel cylinder is that when 
tomatoes are overripe, having been shipped a long distance, or 



10 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

held at the factory for a day or two, the rubbing action of the 
wire on the tomatoes, and of the tomatoes against each other, 
is too severe, and considerable tomato substance is lost by being 
forced down through the wire mesh by the sharp sprays of water 
from overhead. The loss in this case is not nearly as great as 
would be imagined, and what tomato substance is thus lost should 
be discarded anyway, as it is so soft that in all probability the 
fiber is permeated with growths of mold, yeasts, and bacteria, 
which no amount of washing would eliminate. 

Water Bath With Compressed Air 

The reel washer is not so common in the east as in the west, 
and the reason is, as previously stated, that during the greater 
part of the season at least, tomatoes grown on loose, sandy soil 
can be washed satisfactorily by other devices which are less 
cumbersome and can be more easily rigged up. One of these 
devices which is in satisfactory operation is a shallow water 
bath through which the tomatoes pass on a chain carrier, and in 
which the water is kept "boiling" (that is, it has the appearance 
of boiling) by compressed air which is forced into the water 
bath through small pipes, and at a number of different places. 
The tomatoes are thus bounced around and knocked against each 
other in a very lively manner and receive a thorough cleansing. 
It is very doubtful, however, if this device would give such good 
results on tomatoes that had clay baked hard on the surface, or 
on those which had mold deeply imbedded in cracks at the stem 
end. 

Importance of Agitation 

It is always advisable to wash the tomatoes before sorting 
them, as it makes the sorter's work so much easier. After the 
tomatoes leave the sorting belt they can pass under a few strong 
sprays which will put on the finishing touches. Warm or hot 
water is sometimes used in washing tomatoes, but cold water 
does the work just as well. Neither will accomplish much more 
than wetting the surface unless the tomatoes are agitated. Some 
devices which I have seen are almost worse than nothing, as they 
merely consist of a long water bath through which the tomatoes 
are conveyed by means of a large worm or helicoid. The toma- 
toes are not only washed insufficiently, but are contaminated by 
rubbing against the surface of the worm, which soon becomes 
coated with a film of mold, and, being enclosed in a cylinder, this 
worm cannot be cleaned as it should be. It is essential that 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 11 

every part of the equipment with which the tomatoes come in 
contact be readily accessible to the brush and the steam hose. 
Mold accumulates very rapidly, clings very tenaciously to the 
surface on which it grows, and a damp surface in a dark place 
is ideal for its growth. 

Plain Sorting Belt 

The type of sorting belt used most commonly is the ordinary 
plain wire or metal belt 18 to 24 inches in width and about 
10 to 12 feet in length. Canvas belts are also used quite 
frequently, but the packer can now obtain wire belts of such 
strong, sturdy construction that they give scarcely any trouble 
and are very satisfactory in every way. Eighteen to twenty 
inches has been found to be about the best width. 

Number of Sorters 

The number of sorters which should be employed on each 
belt depends upon whether they are going to do both the inspect- 
ing and trimming, or the inspecting alone, and also upon the 
rate at which the tomatoes are fed to the belt, the length of 
the belt, and the quality of the fruit. Some pulp makers prefer 
to feed the belt at a uniform rate regardless of the quality of 
the fruit and to vary the number of sorters, employing about 
14 or 1G to a belt when the quality is poor, and about half that 
number when the tomatoes are almost entirely sound and need 
very little trimming done to them. Others prefer to use the 
same number of sorters and trimmers on the belt all the time 
and to vary the speed of the belt according to the quality of the 
fruit, using a variable speed transmission for this purpose. When 
running on solid fruit, with very little decay, the maximum speed 
can be employed, say 40 feet per minute, and when running on 
stock that is not so good the speed can be decreased to about 
10 feet per minute. 

The Bureau of Chemistry advises very strongly against the 
practice of having the women who do the inspecting do the 
trimming also. They contend that inspecting and trimming 
should be two distinct and separate operations and each should 
be done by a different set of women. By this method the women 
on the sorting belt merely pick out all the tomatoes which are 
imperfect and throw them into receiving boxes which are at- 
tached to the framework of the sorting belt by a bracket, there 
being about four of these boxes to a table — two on each side. 



12 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 



One or two women stand at each receiving box, pick out the 
defective tomatoes from this box, and trim out the bad part, 
which is dropped into a chute, which directs the material down 
to a drain underneath the table through which is flowing the 
waste water from the rotary washer. This stream, properly 
placed, has sufficient current to carry away the waste matter. 
The trimmer throws the good part of the tomato back on to 
the sorting belt. By using this system there is no lugging of 
boxes or buckets back and forth from the sorting table. 

This method, which is the one approved by the Bureau of 
Chemistry, accomplishes the work more thoroughly than can be 
done if the inspecting and trimming are all done on the sorting 
belt by the same set of women. The minimum cost of sorting 
and trimming in this manner is from 2 to 3 cents per bushel, 
according to the government figures. 

If the women on the sorting belt are to be used for both 
inspecting and trimming, a longer belt should be used than if in- 
specting alone is to be done. About 2 feet of belt should be 
allowed to each sorter. 

Tomato Turning Device 

There is another feature which helps greatly in sorting, and 
that is a tomato turning device, which- is illustrated in Figure 1. 




Fig. 1. — Tomato turning- device on sorting' belt. 



This device turns a very large percentage of the tomatoes if they 
are fed to the belt properly, that is, if they are spread out evenly 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 13 

and are not too thick on the belt. The turning device allows 
them to be inspected from all angles, and is described in Bulletin 
5G9 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture as follows: 

"For an apron (sorting belt) 18 inches wide, 14 pieces of 
% inch iron pipe (1 inch outside) were cut, each piece about 
7 inches long. About one-half inch from one end of each piece 
a hole was drilled through the pipe large enough to permit of 
the pipes being strung on a % inch steel rod. In order to 
insure freedom of movement, a thin washer was placed between 
each pipe and the one next to it. The whole set was then sus- 
pended by means of the steel rod across the sorting apron with 
the lower ends one-half inch above the apron. A back-stop rod 
is put in behind the set to prevent the pipes from swinging back 
past the center. This was found necessary to prevent them from 
swinging so far back as to strike and gouge the oncoming to- 
matoes. * * * In operation the weight of the pipes is sufficient 
to roll the tomatoes over as they pass under." 

"In order to obtain satisfactory operation it is most im- 
portant that the tomatoes do not cover more than 50 per cent of 
the apron area, otherwise they do not have room to turn prop 
erly. A test at one plant showed that 70 to 80 per cent of the 
tomatoes were turned each time they passed under a set of the 
pipes. It was found also that this turning device worked better 
on the open metal apron than on the canvas or rubber type, 
owing to the fact that the tomatoes slipped badly on apron? 
made of canvas or rubber." 



Divided Sorting Belt 

There is a modification of the plain belt which is in use 
at several plants, and which some operators like very much. 
This belt is illustrated in Fig. 2. Note that it is divided into 
three partitions by two boards which run lengthwise. These 
boards are about 3 inches high and are raised a fraction of an 
inch above the belt so as to allow the belt to slide under them 
easily. At the head of the belt the board partitions connect in 
a "V". The tomatoes strike this V and are guided into the two 
outer channels, where they are given a hasty inspection by the 
first four sorters, who throw all those which are perfectly 
sound into the center partition. As the tomatoes which remain 
in the two outside partitions pass down to the rest of the sorters 
they are inspected, the bad parts cut out, and the good part 
thrown into the center partition. The bad parts which are cut 



V'At Head Of Sorting Dell WkckDiveris 

Toinaloes To Two OuW Channels - 



Firs! inspectors- 
Bracket. 



Board, partita 




Trimmers < 



Bracket 

Final inspector 
or foreman 




^/asned. and Unsorled 
/Tomatoes ■ 



V 



Q 

o 
o 

I 

o~ 

C/i 



> 



-FifsL inspectors 

.Bracket holding 
up partition. 



Board paiiition. 
i 



\ Tr 



imn\ers 



.Bracl^l 




Fig -2 "Vaste 

Divided Sorting Belt 



[14] 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 15 

out are left on the outside partitions, where they are carried 
along into two waste barrels, which are provided for this pur- 
pose at the end of the belt. 

By using this method no tomatoes but good ones can go through 
unless bad ones are carelessly thrown into the center partition 
and every tomato HAS to be picked up. Of course, some bad 
tomatoes are thrown into the center carelessly, where they will 
remain unless taken out by the final inspector, who is supposed 
to watch this. However, the number which are thus thrown in 
are not great if the first four women on the belt are trained 
as they should be — that is, to only throw those tomatoes in the 
center which a hasty inspection shows are perfectly sound, ana 
to leave all doubtful ones pass by. 

By this method each good tomato is only inspected once, which 
is not the case with any of the other systems, and in that respect 
it is more efficient. One good tomato is not picked up, looked 
at, and placed on the belt again by a number of different sorters. 
When a tomato is picked up by a sorter some disposition is made 
of it at once. If good it is tossed in the center and is never looked 
at again except by the final inspector. If bad, the good part is 
thrown in the center and the bad allowed to remain on the outside, 
to be conducted to the waste barrel. All the sorters except the 
first four can spend their entire time working on tomatoes which 
need to have bad parts cut out of them. 

The main objection which is made to the divided belt system 
is that the first four women get careless and throw unsound to- 
matoes into the center partition and they are never looked at 
again. However, if care is used in the selection of these women, 
and a reliable sorter is placed at the end of the belt to inspect 
the center partition before it leaves the belt, such carelessness 
can be checked and held down to a minimum. Another objec- 
tion that is advanced is that there is the possibility of partly good 
tomatoes going into the waste barrels due to the fact that the 
women might not always keep up on them. In my experience 
with the system I have had practically no trouble in this regard. 
If a long belt is used, as many trimmers as desired can be put 
on, and the belt can be slowed down or the rate at which it is 
fed slowed up if the tomatoes are running particularly bad. Then, 
in extreme cases, it is always possible to have someone go over 
the waste barrels before they are dumped. 

An average grade of tomatoes can be handled quite rapidly 
by the divided belt system. Some packers who have used it 
several seasons like it very much, and an analysis of their prod- 



1G The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

uct will generally show a low count of molds, yeasts and spores, 
and bacteria. I understand, also, that other packers that have 
r.sed the method have discarded it. 

Sorting 

By far the greater part of the trouble packers have with 
their goods not complying with the government regulations as 
to molds, yeasts and spores, and bacteria is due to inadequate 
sorting. At least ninety per cent of this trouble could be over- 
come right at the sorting belt. Packers often say they can't 
understand why the mold is running high on their pulp and 
catsup, as they are sorting their tomatoes carefully. However, 
the chances are ten to one the trouble is they are not sorting 
them carefully enough. One who has not had much experience 
managing help on the tomato sorting belt would imagine that 
almost any woman could step up there and sort out the good 
tomatoes from the bad, and know what to cut out, and what not 
to cut out. But such is not the case. The tomato sorters must 
be instructed. Someone who is competent to do so must work 
with each one of them and show them just what is a good tomato 
and what is not. Otherwise they will be spending part of their 
time cutting out black, fibrous growths on the surface of the 
tomatoes which are absolutely normal and entirely free from 
molds, etc., and allowing tomatoes to pass by them which have 
black spots on the surface no bigger than a dime, but indicating 
to the trained eye that probably half of the tomato is eaten up 
with black rot. They will allow a tomato to pass by which is 
cracked open, and the edge of the skin on each side of the crack 
will be as white as a piece of paper. Unless they are instructed, 
they may not realize that this is mold, and they certainly will 
not realize the amount of damage a small percentage of tomatoes 
like that can do. They know nothing about mold counts, brt 
most women can be impressed with the importance of watching 
for moldy streaks and spots in mashed and split tomatoes, and 
the importance of eliminating every bit of tomato tissue that is 
so effected. 

Every sorting belt should have a boss — a competent sorter 
who knows his or her business, and who stands at the end of 
the belt and inspects the tomatoes just as they are about to 
leave the belt. This person can order the speed at which the 
tomatoes are fed to the sorters increased or decreased according 
to the quality, can see just what form of decay is predominat- 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 17 

ing and caution the sorters to watch out for it, can see the 
mistakes that are being made in the sorting and try to correct 
them, and in addition can throw out into a receptacle such 
bad tomatoes as have passed by the sorters so that they can 
be sorted over again. It is not safe to put a bunch of women 
on the sorting belt with no one in authority who is on that 
particular job every minute, and expect an entire day's run to 
come within the government limits. 

Forms of Decay 

There are many forms of rot, but the most common are the 
black rot, soft rot, and the mold growths in cracked tomatoes, 
either those which have cracked deeply around the stem end 
during their growth, or have been cracked or mashed in ship- 
ment. Just as soon as the skin is broken, either in a natural 
or unnatural way, molds start growing on that broken surface 
immediately, and develop very rapidly. 

There is also the brown spotted tomato, which is not so com- 
mon, but which has been very bad in some localities. I remember 
one field of tomatoes in southern Ohio several years ago which 
was absolutely worthless for canning purposes, due to the fact 
that practically all of the tomatoes were covered with brown 
spots, and under each one of these spots was a lump of white 
mold and mold spores. This field was plowed up before half of 
the tomatoes were picked, as the pulp plant which had con- 
tracted them refused to receive any more after having cooked 
several batches of pulp on which the mold ran very high due to 
this condition, which had never been met with before. The 
brown spots were soft and concave, and if once the character 
of the spot was fixed in the memory one could never fail to 
quickly detect that type of tomato if it was run across again. 

The disease appeared in both central and southern Indiana 
the following year and I sent samples of the tomatoes to the 
Department of Agriculture at Washington and to the Indiana 
state experiment station, but it was new to them and they had 
no remedy for it. Whether it has appeared since I do not know, 
but it was very bad while it lasted. It is almost impossible to 
sort such tomatoes, as the spots are so numerous on the surface, 
and every spot would have to be cut out. When the spots are 
small, as they frequently are, they are very apt to pass by the 
sorters unnoticed, or at any rate considered harmless, but it 
doesn't take many bushels of such tomatoes to send a batch over 
the limit in mold count. 



18 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

Extremely soft spots which will yield to very slight pressure 
with the finger are usually receptacles for the growth of yeasts 
and bacteria and should be cut out. Nine times out of ten such 
spots are offensive to the nose when the skin of the tomato is 
broken. However, one quickly learns to pick them out by sight. 

It is important that the sorting belt be well lighted with 
100-watt lamps overhead provided with large reflectors. On 
dark days good sorting is impossible unless the belt is adequately 
lighted, and, of course, for sorting in the early morning or late 
evening adequate light is absolutely essential. 

Cleanliness of Equipment 

To dwell upon the necessity of thoroughly cleaning all wash- 
ing and sorting equipment each night, as well as to frequently 
change the water in water baths, in case a water bath is used, 
would seem almost unnecessary, yet there are many packers 
who do not comprehend the trouble that can be caused by 
inadequate cleaning of the washing, sorting, and conveying 
equipment. 

Does the sorting and washing equipment in every pulp plant 
impart a clean, fresh, sweet smell when the morning's work is 
begun? It does not, and the reason is that it was not properly 
cleaned the night before. Those surfaces which were easy to get 
at and which are easily seen in a hasty inspection are clean, of 
course, but how about the dark corners and almost inaccessible 
places that are hard to clean? Can you run your fingernail over 
the surface of one of the bucket conveyors, or "flights," for ex- 
ample, and scrape off a thin, slimy film? If you can, you can 
be sure it is mold, and that the only way to get it off is with a 
very stiff brush — even a wire one may be necessary — hot water, 
and soda ash. If the bucket conveyors or "flights" are covered 
with a thin film of mold, the tomatoes will carry along a small 
part of this mold with them every time the conveyor is used, and 
as fast as the mold is rubbed off the conveyor by the tomatoes 
more mold will grow on again. 

The same care should be taken with this equipment as is 
given to the equipment in a milk bottling or condensing plant. 
My experience has been that the only safe way to check up the 
thoroughness of the cleaning job is to go over it with a spot 
light, with particular attention to the most inaccessible parts, and 
to do everything possible to make every part of the equipment 
accessible. 



The Manufacture of Tomato Pboducts 19 

Molds, Yeasts and Spores, and Bacteria 

An understanding of the nature of molds, yeasts and spores, 
and bacteria is very helpful to any packer. A knowledge of the 
rapidity of their growth and the conditions under which they 
multiply most rapidly is also helpful. The average packer 
has a very vague idea of this subject, yet it is easy of compre- 
hension. In CHAPTER VII a discussion of it will be found, 
which it is hoped will help to clear up the misty atmosphere 
surrounding this subject, and in the same chapter the govern- 
ment attitude toward micro-organisms is also discussed. 



CHAPTER III 

PRINCIPAL METHODS IN USE FOR PULPING 

The chief methods in use for preparing the tomatoes for 
the cooking kettle are: first, cold pulping; second, hot pulping; 
third, crushing without cycloning. 

Cold Pulping 

The cold pulping method is probably the most common, and 
requires less equipment than the hot method, with results that 
are considered by many packers just as good, if the pulp machine 
is operated by a careful man who will not feed it too fast, and 
who will keep it clean. Sometimes, with this method, the to- 
matoes are run through a crusher before pulping, and sometimes 
not. 

Care of Cyclone 

It is important that the outlet from the receiving box under 
the cyclone be directly from the bottom, and not from the side 
of the box near the bottom. The box must drain completely so 
as not to leave any tomato juice lying in it to ferment. A taper- 
ing enamel lined receptacle which drains itself completely is best 
to use under the cyclone. 

The steam hose should be turned into both the cyclone and 
receiving box several times during the day to arrest growths 
of micro-organisms, and clean out adhering tomato fiber. It is 
particularly important to do this just before the noon hour, as 
considerable fermentation can take place in the cyclone during 
that hour if it is not cleaned out beforehand. 

Hot Pulping 

By the hot pulping method the tomatoes are conveyed, usually 
by means of a series of "flights," or a bucket conveyor, to "break- 
ing tanks" which are arranged above the cyclones. These "break- 
ing tanks" hold about 1000 gallons, and are usually constructed 
of cypress. At the bottom of the tank are open brass steam pipes 
running horizontally in four directions. These pipes are about 

[20] 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 21 

two feet in length, and are open at the ends so that the steam 
comes directly in contact with the tomatoes. The tomatoes are 
conveyed direct from the sorting belt to the "breaking tanks," 
and as soon as the brass pipes are covered the steam is turned 
on full and the breaking up process begins. It usually takes about 
30 minutes to break up the tomatoes, and they are then cycloned. 
The tank should have a concave bottom and large outlet, prefer- 
ably 3 inch, so that the broken up tomatoes can be let out of the 
tank easily. Iron pipes should, of course, be avoided, as the 
acid of the tomato attacks the iron, producing an iron salt which 
is apt to discolor the product, particularly if it is to be used for 
catsup, and this dissolved iron comes in contact with the tanni • 
acid of the spices. This will be discussed further under the 
manufacture of catsup. 

Some packers object to brass and copper coming in contact 
with the tomatoes on account of the slight amount of copper 
which goes into solution by the action of the tomato acid. In the 
case of the "breaking tank," however, the few short brass pipes 
offer a very small surface to the action of the tomato acid, ami 
the amount of metal dissolved would be negligible. These brass 
pipes can be plated with tin if it is desired to avoid contact with 
brass altogether, and this is frequently done. 

Advantages Claimed for Hot Pulping 

Those who use the hot pulping method like it for a number 
of reasons. In the first place, the tomatoes are brought to a 
boil while they are still whole, and this eliminates any chance 
of fermentation due to the crushing of the tomatoes before 
they are cooked. By bringing the tomatoes to a boil quickly, 
that is, as soon as the washing and sorting is completed, any 
incipient fermentation is arrested immediately. As the tomato 
juice is near the boiling point when it is cycloned and delivered 
to the cooking kettles, no multiplication of yeasts, bacteria, etc. 
can take place between the sorting and the final condensing, 
unless the juice is allowed to cool considerably at some point 
between the "breaking tank" and the cooking kettle. 

Another advantage claimed for the hot process is that the 
pulp of the tomato is more completely separated from the seed 
and skin than when the tomatoes are pulped cold, and therefore 
the tomatoes will give a slightly larger yield of pulp. It is also 
claimed that a better color can be obtained by the hot pulping 
process, as the color cells of the tomato lie in greatest abundance 



22 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

directly next to the skin, and by making a clean cut separation 
of the skin from these color cells by boiling in a "breaking tank," 
none of this color will be lost in the pumice during the cycloning 
Although this argument does appear reasonable, I have failed to 
see that tomatoes which are pulped by the hot process give any 
better color than those which are pulped cold. 

The hot process is also liked where the tomatoes are to be 
manufactured directly into catsup or tomato soup, as the "break- 
ing tank" can be filled up to a certain mark with the boiling 
tomatoes and that gives the measure of tomatoes for the catsup 
oi- soup batch, and no other measuring devices for this purpose 
need be employed. 

Objections to Hot Process 

The chief objection to the hot process is that it requires a 
lot of additional tanks for breaking the tomatoes, which are 
entirely dispensed with when cold pulping is used. The tanks 
are not only an additional expense to the equipment, but require 
one or two operators to tend to them, and they take up a lot of 
room, and consume a lot of steam. No seed can be saved from 
tomatoes which are pulped hot, as the cooking either kills the 
germ or renders it impotent. Quite a few canners save the seed 
from cold pulped tomatoes, and the revenue from it proves to be 
a profitable item. 

As to whether the slightly increased yield to be obtained by 
the hot pulping method, and the decreased danger of multiplica- 
tion of yeasts and bacteria, more than compensate for the ad- 
vantages to be obtained by the cold process is a question which 
the individual packer must decide for himself. 

Crushing 

Crushing the tomatoes without cycloning them is a very good 
method where the tomatoes are going to be made into pulp or 
puree, as the finishing machine will convert the crushed cooked 
tomatoes into a very smooth product. Where catsup is to be made 
direct from the tomatoes, however, cycloning is to be preferred 
to crushing. If the final product is to be soup, cycloning is 
necessary. This will be discussed further in the chapters on 
catsup and soup. 

When a crusher is used it takes the place of the cyclone or 
pulp machine, although it performs an entirely different kind 
of an operation, and the tomatoes go through exactly the same 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 23 

process as in cold pulping, except that instead of removing the 
seeds and skins from the tomatoes before cooking, the tomatoes 
are chopped very fine and conveyed to the cooking kettles — seeds, 
skin and all. It is obviously somewhat harder to gauge the 
finishing point of a batch of pulp where the skins and seeds are 
present, however a little practice largely eliminates this difficulty, 
and there is always the method of determining the specific grav- 
ity by weight to fall back on. The seeds and skins will not 
interfere with making the specific gravity test as it is usually 
carried out in the cook room with a large copper flask, small trip 
balance, and set of weights. 

Conveying to Kettle 

If the plant is so arranged that the pulped or crushed tomatoes 
can be conveyed to the cooking kettles by gravity, that is an 
advantage, as it does away with a pump and someone to tend 
to it, and the fewer the pumps, the better; however, in most 
plants it is necessary to pump the pulped or crushed stock into 
the cooking kettles. Unless the plant consists of several floors 
and the tomatoes start at the top and come out as finished pulp 
at the bottom, or the plant is built on a terraced plan, as one 
plant is in Indiana, which is built on the side of a hill, it is 
necessary to do a certain amount of pumping. An ordinary pump 
will not do, as there would be contamination by iron, and con- 
siderable rusting, while the pump was idle, of those parts of 
the pump with which tomato juice comes in contact, this rust 
to be carried along with the tomato juice the first time the pump 
is used again. The rotary pump constructed partly of bronze or 
nickel is very good for this purpose, and offers as little oppor- 
tunity for metallic contamination as any pump does. 

The pipe used for the conveying of this tomato stock should 
by all means be enamel lined. Enamel lined pipe, if properly 
made, will last for many years without chipping or cracking. 
Just how long it will last on the average I cannot say, but I 
have often taken down lines of enamel lined pipe that have been 
in use for several years, and it looked practically as good as 
new. The flanged pipe with flanged fittings is better than that 
with the ordinary screw ends, as it makes practically a con- 
tinuous white tube without any pipe threads in which molds, 
yeasts, and bacteria can lodge and multiply. 

Wooden troughs are still used in many plants for convey- 
ing tomato juice and pulp, but they are a relic of the old days, 



24 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

and have no place in the modern pulp or catsup plant. Wooden 
troughs are hard to keep clean, they mold very quickly after 
they become damp, they are open to contamination from ceilings 
and roofs which aren't always in good condition, and they are 
usually wasteful. It will pay any packer who still uses even a 
few wooden troughs to invest in enamel lined pipe. Wooden 
pipe is also unsanitary for this purpose, as mold grows in it 
and clings so tightly to the porous, damp surface that it can- 
not possibly be flushed out. 

Value of Pumice 

This chapter, which deals principally with cycloning, seems to 
be a fitting place to discuss the value of the pumice which comes 
as a waste product from the cyclone. Although it has been 
repeatedly demonstrated by chemical analysis that this pumice 
or tomato waste is a valuable by-product, every time the ques- 
tion has come up of its utilization and preparation into a salable 
product or products, the decision has been that the expense in- 
volved would be too great to make it pay. This by-product is 
profitably handled in Italy, producing an oil of commercial value, 
and an oil cake which is used for stock feed; however, the con- 
ditions in Italy and in this country are very different. In the 
Parma district of Italy there are forty factories very close to- 
gether, and little expense is involved in bringing the waste to 
a central point where enough of it can be had to keep a drying 
outfit and an oil press or oil extraction outfit busy. Labor is also 
very cheap and plentiful, and there is a ready market for the 
product, the oil being used as a soap stock, and the oil cake find- 
ing ready sale as a stock feed. In this country, however, there is 
not enough waste at even one of the largest plants to pay for 
the operation of a drying outfit and the pulp plants are so scat- 
tered that hauling or shipping charges to a central point would be 
expensive. Furthermore, labor is scarce and expensive. 

That quite a little labor is involved in the preparation of the 
waste is soon discovered by a little experimenting. As the waste 
ferments quickly it must be handled as produced, or preserved 
in some way, which would be a questionable operation, as the 
oil cake is used for stock feed. As the skins are practically valu 
less, they must be separated from the seeds in which all the 
value lies. This separation can either be carried out in the moist 
state by a gravity separation in water, in which the seeds, being 
heavy, sink, and the skins float; or by the use of a fanning mill 






The Manufacture of Tomato Products 25 

after drying, in which case the dried skins, being very light, are 
blown out. Before drying either the seeds alone or the unsepa- 
rated waste, the excess moisture must be pressed out with a 
hydraulic press. The pressed product must then be broken up 
and put through a steam or hot air dryer of the rotary, cylin- 
drical type. After the seeds are dried to a 10 per cent moisture 
basis they must then be ground, and the oil extracted either by 
pressure, or by dissolving it out with a chemical agent, such as 
carbon tetrachloride. The oil cake which remains would then 
be sacked for stock feed. 

This briefly gives an idea of the labor involved, and the dif- 
ficulties surrounding the situation. It may be successfully worked 
out some time, but will require close co-operation from a number 
of large pulp plants which are near each other to be a success. 
Some plants are giving the waste to farmers if they will haul it 
away, and I know of one farmer who has for years fattened a 
bunch of hogs cheaply during the tomato season in this way. It 
is a queer thing, though, that most farmers turn up their noses at 
the idea. 

The seed, when dried to a 10 per cent moisture basis, con- 
tains about 23 per cent protein and from 20 to 25 per cent of 
fat. After the fat is extracted the protein in the cake will run 
close to 30 per cent. 

In a test made by the U. S. Department of Agriculture the 
ground cake ran 37 per cent in protein, which puts it in about the 
same class with cottonseed meal. They also refined some of the oil 
and are of the opinion that it has the qualities of an edible oil. 

If a factory uses the cold pulping method the most profitable 
way to handle the pumice is to ferment it and then separate the 
seed and dry it, and use it for planting the following season. 
Care must be taken, however, to keep out undesirable strains and 
varieties foreign to the one which is being grown. 



CHAPTER IV 

CONDENSING THE STRAINED OR CRUSHED TOMATOES 

Vacuum Pan 

Practically all of the tomato products made in this country are 
cooked in an open kettle under atmospheric pressure — either a 
copper jacketed kettle, or a tank with a closed coil. The vacuum 
pan is used, however, in several plants, and makes a very high 
grade product — a better product as a rule than can be made by 
condensing under atmospheric pressure. When tomato juice is 
condensed in vacuum it boils at anywhere from 54 degrees P. to 
175 degrees P., depending upon the degree of vacuum obtained. 
At sea level, under atmospheric pressure, it boils at 212 degrees 
F. By employing a low temperature, and condensing rapidly, 
which can be done in the vacuum pan, the natural bright red color 
of the tomatoes is affected very little by the cooking. High tem- 
peratures and continued boiling are the agents which destroy 
tomato color as well as flavor. The vacuum pan produces a 
pulp of not only fine color, but of very fine flavor. The reason 
the vacuum method is not used more frequently than it is is 
undoubtedly due to the difficulty in getting the vacuum equip- 
ment, and also to the expense of the equipment when it can be 
obtained. 

Types of Open Kettles 

The open kettle method produces a very satisfactory product 
when the proper precautions are taken, and if the cooking and 
subsequent processes are carried out intelligently, the finished 
product compares very favorably with that which is condensed 
in vacuum. The types of kettles in most common use are the 
copper jacketed kettle, the glass lined tank with closed copper 
coil, and the cypress tank with closed copper coil. All of 
these give good results where the jacket or coil is properly con- 
structed, the steam trap is of the right type and takes care of 
all of the condensation without allowing it to back up into the 
coil, and the kettle has a good head of steam so that a vigorous 
boil can be maintained throughout the cooking. 

[26] 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 27 

Steam Pressure 

If the steam pressure at the boiler is kept above 75 lbs., and 
too much is not lost by radiation from uncovered pipes, and 
by leaks at poorly packed flanges, etc., there should be no diffi- 
culty in maintaining a vigorous boil. The evaporation should be 
so rapid that the vaporizing steam will burn the hand, even if 
placed over the kettle for a second. If you can hold your hand 
over a kettle of boiling pulp, even for a few seconds, you can 
be sure that you are not getting a proper boil. A pressure of 
100 lbs. is, of course, to be preferred to 75, as it will effect a 
quicker condensation, however there is not a large percentage of 
boilers in tomato pulp plants that are permitted to carry as much 
as 100 lbs. 

The kettles should be close to the boiler room, and the steam 
pipes feeding them should be as straight and short as possible, 
and covered with magnesia pipe covering to prevent excessive 
loss of heat by radiation. It is not an uncommon sight in can- 
ning plants to see the main pipe from the boiler to the cooking 
kettles pass through an areaway between two buildings, and 
have no protective covering whatever. Such sights, however, 
are becoming more infrequent, as packers are plugging up many 
of the leaks through which dollars have escaped every day in 
years gone by. The condensation from the steam traps can, of 
course, be used right over again in the boilers. 

Copper-Jacketed Kettles 

Copper-jacketed kettles used for condensing tomato products 
range all the way from 50 gallons capacity to 500 gallons, the 
larger size making a batch of finished pulp of about 250 gallons 
as a rule. A larger batch than this can be cooked in a 500-gallon 
kettle, but it is not advisable to keep pumping fresh tomato 
juice into the kettle too long, as it gives too long a cook to the 
first that goes in. Forty-five minutes should be the absolute limit 
for a batch of pulp, no matter what kind of a kettle it is cooked 
in, and it is much better to confine the cooking time to 30 min- 
utes or less. The shorter the cook, the better the color and flavor 
of the finished product, other things being equal. 

Tinning Kettles 

Copper kettles are frequently lined with block tin to prevent 
the acid of the tomato from dissolving some of the copper. The 



28 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

desirability of this is argued both from a standpoint of health 
and flavor, as dissolved copper, even in small quantity, has a 
very bitter taste. It should be remembered, however, that the 
acid of the tomato, which is generally thought to be citric acid, 
is a weak organic acid, and the amount of copper dissolved in a 
batch cooked not over an hour is exceedingly small; certainly 
so small as to have no ill effect upon health. As to the ques- 
tion of flavor, it would indeed take a very delicate palate to de- 
tect among a half dozen samples which ones were cooked in an 
unlined copper kettle, and which in a kettle lined with block tin 
or silver. The latter is said to be used by some packers. 

It is a good idea, however, to play safe, and line all kettles 
with block tin, as we know that there is a small amount of cop- 
per taken up in solution in the pulp. This is more important in 
the case of catsup and chili sauce than where the kettles are 
used for pulp alone, as vinegar and salt act on the copper much 
more severely than tomato acid does. As to the thickness of the 
block tin lining, an inspection of the kettles used by various 
packers shows this to run all the way from a good half-inch thick 
to a coating so thin that in one season's use it is almost all 
scraped off by friction in cleaning the kettle. The kettles should 
be plated heavy enough to last several seasons without retinning. 
however a coating a half-inch thick is unnecessary and wasteful 
of steam. The same remarks apply to the tinning of copper coils 

Advantages of Various Types of Kettles 

Although copper-jacketed kettles have the advantage of being 
very easily cleaned, and also the advantage of wasting very lit- 
tle of the product when the finished batch is being discharged, 
the large tanks of either cypress or glass-lined steel are coming 
into use more and more because of their greater capacity. It is 
true that they are very slightly more wasteful than the jacketed 
kettles, but this really amounts to very little if the tanks are 
built with a concave bottom. They take up no more room than 
the jacketed kettles, and will hold a much larger volume, as 
they can be built so much higher. If one were to buy a series 
of copper-jacketed kettles to cook batches as large as are com- 
monly cooked in tanks equipped with copper coils, the expense 
would be very heavy, there would be much exposure to metal, 
and the results obtained would be no better, or possibly not as 
good. In the tank equipped with a coil, batches of 300 or 400 gal- 
lons are often cooked, and the juice can generally be condensed 
to a specific gravity of 1.035 in 25 to 30 minutes. 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 



29 



Glass-Lined Tank 

During the last few years quite a few packers, when adding 
to their cooking capacity, have put in glass-lined steel tanks 
The glass-lined tank is equipped with coil and steam trap in 
the same manner as the cypress tank, and it has certain advan- 
tages which make it very nice to work with, even though the first 
cost is considerably more than that of a cypress tank of equal 
capacity. The only objection I have heard to the glass-lined tank 
is that it radiates more heat than a wooden tank, and on very 
hot days, unless it is insulated, makes the cook room more un- 
comfortable than the same capacity in cypress tanks would 
However, when the tank is covered with cork insulation or 
asbestos, or even wood staves, it radiates no more heat than a 
cypress tank. 

The glass-lined tank is perfectly sanitary, and is very easily 
cleaned. It is really the most sanitary thing we have to cook 
in. The surface is smooth and entirely free from any irregu- 
larities such as there are bound to be between the staves of the 
cypress tank. It is always ready for use, and does not have to 
be swelled and then scrubbed for a half day after standing idle 
for a while before it is fit to use again. There are no places 
for molds to creep in and multiply. Furthermore, being of metal 
and all in one piece, a battery of glass-lined tanks will not shake 
like cypress tanks will when you are running heavy and have 
several tanks going full blast at the same time. This may seem 
rather unimportant, but it is quite a relief to the cook and his 
helpers, as they can go about their work without having their 
nerves rattled. Just how long a glass-lined tank will last un- 
der average conditions in a pulp or catsup plant is not known, as 
they have not been in use a great many years for this purpose- 
however, one would guess that they would be serviceable almost 
indefinitely. 

Cypress Tank 

Cypress tanks should be constructed of 2-inch material and 
made with a sloping or concave bottom, preferably the latter. 
They will not impart any foreign taste to the product, as is 
sometimes thought, even after becoming charred by long' usage, 
and if kept clean they will remain sweet as long as they are 
kept in continuous use. A musty taste is sometimes imparted 
to pulp or catsup cooked in a cypress tank if it has been stand- 
ing idle for a long time and is not thoroughly cleaned and boiled 
out with soda before it is used again. Cypress tanks have the 



30 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

advantage of being cheap, and also of having large cooking ca- 
pacity. 

Cleaning Kettles 

Cooking tanks and kettles should be cleaned thoroughly 
after every batch. If the steam trap is working properly the 
burning on the coils and sides of the kettle will be so slight that 
almost all of it can be washed off with the hose if the water pres- 
sure is strong and the hose is bushed down to one-eighth inch. 
The best things to use to take off the material which burns 
on hard and black is a pot chain for coils, and for the jacketed 
kettles a wire brush or very stiff fiber brush does very well. If 
any of the baked on pulp is not removed before the next batch 
is cooked it will interfere with the cooking by lengthening the 
time required to finish the batch, and by causing the coils to 
burn still harder next time. The cook should be instructed to 
get down in the tanks frequently, and feel underneath his coils 
to see that they are properly cleaned. The manager should 
also make it a point to do this several times a day. His quality 
will depend in no small degree on the way his coils are cleaned. 

Coil Leaks 

Leaks in coils should be attended to immediately, as they cut 
down the available steam pressure, and soon become so large 
that it becomes impossible to cook satisfactorily. An ordinary 
soldering job will only hold them for a day or two, and it is 
necessary to take out the coil and braze it if the leak is to be 
permanently mended. 

Starting the Cooking 

We will say that we are now pumping over the cycloned 
or crushed tomatoes into the cooking kettle. Some packers pour 
a cupful of cottonseed oil in the kettle to assist in breaking the 
boil, others rub the sides of the kettle with fat, such as a piece 
of cocoa butter, while others use no oil or fat at all, but take 
care to feed the kettle slowly and carefully, and cut the foam 
with a sharp spray of water from the hose to assist in breaking 
the boil. The oil or fat does seem to help some, but it is not 
necessary if the kettle is fed carefully. As soon as the coil or 
jacket is covered the steam can be turned on full; however, the 
exhaust should be opened immediately, and not closed until all 
the condensation which has collected in the coil or jacket runs 






The Manufacture of Tomato Products 31 

out and the steam comes through perfectly dry. The condensa- 
tion of the pulp should then be conducted as rapidly as possible, 
pumping over more of the tomato juice as the kettle is able to 
take care of it, and boiling continuously. The eye soon learns to 
judge the approach of the finishing point, and then the exact 
finishing point must be determined. There are many ways of 
doing this, and a number of ways have been recommended. No 
method can succeed which is not simple and quick, and which 
offers scarcely any chance for error when used by a cook, whom, 
it must be remembered, is a man of very ordinary intelligence 

Methods of Gauging Finishing Point 

The simplest method is gauging the finishing point by the 
eye, but this method is also the least accurate in the hands of 
the average cook. Cooks who have had years of experience with 
tomato pulp sometimes get to be very expert in gauging the 
finishing point by the eye, and can determine it with surprising 
accuracy. Such a cook is the exception, however, and most 
packers have to use some sort of a mechanical method by which 
at least fair accuracy can be counted on. These methods con- 
sist of: first, condensing the pulp to a certain mark on the ket- 
tle, a definite volume of juice having been taken to start with; 
second, cooking a certain length of time; third, determining the 
specific gravity of the hot pulp by weighing a definite quantity 
on a small balance; fourth, estimating the gravity by the use 
of a hydrometer. 

Cooking to a Gauge on Kettle 

With the first method the amount of tomato juice pumped 
into the kettle, or the number of bushels of tomatoes from which 
this juice was derived, must be measured. This is a nuisance, 
and is not necessary with any of the other methods except the 
second. Furthermore, even though every batch of pulp cooked 
during the season be made from a measured quantity of tomatoes 
or tomato juice, and cooked to the same point on the measuring 
stick, the pulp will not all be of the same specific gravity, be- 
cause tomatoes are very watery at some seasons of the year and 
very firm and solid at other times. The watery tomatoes will 
make a thin pulp, and the firm tomatoes will make a heavier 
pulp. 



32 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

Cooking a Definite Length of Time 

Cooking for a certain length of time is not dependable be- 
cause the steam pressure is not always the same, the coils do 
not always condense the pulp with the same efficiency, and the 
character of the tomatoes varies during the season. With this 
method it is also necessary to start with a definite quantity of 
tomato stock for each batch. 

Determining Specific Gravity by Weight 

The third method — that of determining the specific gravity 
by weight — is used as commonly as any of the others. The spe- 
cific gravity of pulp merely means the comparison between the 
weight of a definite volume of the pulp and the weight of the 
same volume of water at the same temperature. If pulp has a 
specific gravity of 1.035, that means that a gallon of it is 1.035 
times as heavy as a gallon of water. 

The determination, as carried out in the cook room, is made 
with a small trip balance, a set of weights, and a copper flask 
which is tin lined. The weight of the empty flask is taken. Then 
the weight of the flask filled to the top with boiling water is 
taken. The difference between these two weights is the weight 
of water at the boiling point which the flask contains. When 
the boiling pulp approaches the finishing point, the flask is filled 
to the top with the boiling pulp. This should be done rapidly, 
as the pulp cools quickly, and as it cools, decreases in volume. 
The weight of the flask filled with pulp at the boiling point is 
taken. This weight, minus the weight of the empty flask, equals 
the weight of pulp at the boiling point which the flask contains. 
You now have the weight of boiling water the flask contains, 
and the weight of boiling pulp the flask contains. Divide the 
former into the latter, and the result (the quotient) is the spe- 
cific gravity. For example, if the water weighs 1,000 grams, and 
the pulp weighs 1.035 grams, the specific gravity is 1.035. If 
the specific gravity of cold pulp is taken, then cold water of the 
same temperature must be taken as the comparison. The weight 
of cold pulp must not be compared with the weight of hot water, 
and vice versa. 

Objections to Weighing Method 

One of the objections to the use of this method is that there 
is usually a certain amount of air bubbles and foam in the boil- 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 33 

ing pulp and this causes an error, as the air takes up volume 
but does not weigh anything. Another objection is that the de- 
termination is often not made rapidly enough, with the result 
that while the flask is being filled with boiling pulp, the pulp 
is cooling and correspondingly decreasing in volume, and by the 
time the flask is full, it contains more pulp than it should, that 
is, instead of containing 1,000 cubic centimeters of pulp at 210 
degrees F., it will contain about 1,010 cubic centimeters of pulp 
at 200 degrees F., or possibly lower. One reason for this delay 
is that the foam caused by filling the flask with boiling pulp 
rises in the neck of the flask, and makes it hard to judge when 
the flask is exactly full. The main difficulty with the method, 
however, is that pulp cooks do not have scientific minds, they 
do not appreciate the importance of doing the determination in 
a strictly scientific way, and the results they get are not very 
accurate. I have frequently checked up on pulp cooks using 
this method, and sometimes they were very decidedly off. 

Testing With Hydrometer 

The estimation of the gravity of the boiling pulp by the use 
of a hydrometer is not in very general use, and it has been 
stated by some scientific men that a hydrometer is no good 
for tomato pulp or catsup except where the sample on which the 
test is made is previously filtered so as to get a clear liquid. A 
test which involves filtering, is, in my opinion, entirely unsuited 
for everyday use on the cooking platform. 

I have used the hydrometer for testing pulp and catsup direct 
from the kettle for seven years, and have had more success with 
this method than with any other. 

The hydrometer was never intended to be used with semi- 
solid substances such as tomato pulp, but only with liquids such 
as brine, sugar syrup, etc., in which there is no solid matter in 
suspension. With liquids, the number of degrees registered on 
the hydrometer when it is immersed in the liquid is equal to 
a definite specific gravity. This is not true with semi-solids 
such as tomato pulp, as each packer must work out the relation 
between the degrees of the hydrometer and the specific gravity 
on pulp under the conditions which obtain in his plant. This 
is a very simple thing to do, and once the packer has estab- 
lished this relation, it will hold good as long as he is in the pulp 
packing business. The reason why this relation is not the same 
for all packers is because tomato juice is not screened to the 



34 



The Manuijxjture of Tomato Products 



same degrees of fineness in all plants, and because all 
hydrometers having tho same scale will not work the same on 
pulp. This is because they have different shapes. The shapes 
may only vary slightly, which will not interfere with their 
accuracy on clear liquids, but it will make a difference when 
the hydrometer is used in tomato pulp. Furthermore, some of 
the hydrometers will probably have too much variation in their 
diameter at different points, which is a disadvantage when they 
are used in tomato pulp. I have therefore always had the 
hydrometers which I have used for this test made to order and 
to conform to certain specifications which I laid down. 

In Pig. 3 is illustrated a hydrometer 
which is manufactured by the C. J. Tag- 
liabue Mfg. Co. of Brooklyn, and which 
is made to conform to these specifications, 
which are: first, perfect balance; second, 
a minimum amount of variation in the 
diameter of the various parts of the 
spindle with the slope very gradual; 
third, a Beaume scale reading from to 
50 degrees; fourth, that it can be obtained 
in exact duplicate in any quantity. 

If the diameter at various points in 
the spindle is slight, with the slope ver - 
gradual, it seems to be an advantage. It 
is, of course, necessary that exact dupli- 
cates can be obtained to use when the 
first one, on which your calculations are 
based, is broken. 

In order to avoid disappointments 
which would be very apt to result from 
the use of a hydrometer which was not 
particularly adapted to this test, and 
which would very likely be difficult of 
exact duplication, the type illustrated 
above should be adhered to, and it will 
be found to give goodresults when used 
as directed in this chapter. 
Two pulps of the same specific gravity, and of practically 
the same degree of fineness, if tested hot, will register the same 
on the same hydrometer, or on two hydrometers which are ex- 
actly alike in every respect. (The hydrometer does not work 
well on cold pulp unless the pulp is thin.) 




Fig. 8, Special hydrometer for 
testing tomato pulp and catsup. 
(C. J. Tagliabue Mfg. Co.) 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 35 

Two pulps of the same specific gravity, showing a very 
marked difference in their degree of fineness, will not register 
the same on the same hydrometer, because, even though a 
definite volume of each will weigh the same, the two pulps are 
of different thicknesses, which will have an effect on the degree 
to which the hydrometer will sink when placed in the pulp. How- 
ever, if a packer cyclones his tomatoes before condensing them, 
and uses the same mesh of wire screen in his cyclone all the 
time, his pulp will all be of the same degree of fineness, and this 
point is eliminated. Every pulp packer who cyclones his toma- 
toes, and who uses the same mesh of screen in his cyclone 
throughout the season, can use the hydrometer for testing his 
pulp and can obtain uniformity without the use of any complex 
apparatus. 

The relation between the hydrometer reading and the de- 
sired specific gravity is arrived at as follows: 

When the boiling pulp approaches the finishing point, pour 
a sample into a tall gallon measure and take the hydrometer 
reading immediately. Save this sample, put it through the finish- 
ing machine along with several additional gallons dipped from 
the kettle so as to get a good sized sample through the finisher, 
taking care that the brushes are dry so as not to dilute the sam- 
ple, and have the specific gravity determined on this finished 
sample when it gets cold. Take other samples from the kettle 
at five-minute intervals, and save them for the same purpose, 
after getting the hydrometer reading. We will say that one of 
these samples, when tested for specific gravity, ran 1.035. The 
packer looks up the hydrometer reading he got on this sam- 
ple, when taken hot from the kettle, and finds the reading was 
18 degrees. He then knows that for pulp of the degree of fine- 
ness he gets from his cyclone, 18 degrees on his hydrometer 
equals specific gravity 1.035 after finishing. He may also find 
that for the sample that was taken from the kettle five min- 
utes later, specific gravity 1.04 is equivalent to 24 degrees un- 
der the same conditions. He now has established a relation be- 
tween the degrees on his hydrometer and the actual specific 
gravity. (The reason for putting the pulp through a finisher 
before determining the specific gravity is that he wants to make 
this test under the same conditions that the buyer would 
make it.) 

Now, if the packer decides that he wants to condense his 
season's run of pulp to 1.035, he simply cooks it all to 18 degrees 



30 The Manufactube of Tomato Products 

on his hydrometer, providing this is the comparison he got. 
Under his conditions he may find that 16 or 20 degrees equals 
specific gravity 1.035. As stated before, each packer must de- 
termine this for himself. 

Method of Using Hydrometer 

The cook should fill a tall gallon measure with the boiling 
pulp and allow the spindle to sink into it slowly. Do not drop 
it into the pulp so that it will fall suddenly, as the weight of 
the mercury or shot in the bottom will carry it farther than it 
should go. It will be noticed that the spindle will sink rapidly 
for a few seconds and then almost come to a standstill. At this 
point — when a standstill is almost reached — the reading should 
be taken. It requires quite a little time to reach an absolute 
standstill, and this is not necessary, as it is easy, with a little 
practice, to catch the other point and take the reading. After 
the reading is taken, lift out the spindle, stir the pulp with it, 
and allow it to sink again as a check determination, merely for 
the satisfaction of being doubly sure. You will find that you 
get the same reading unless you wait so long before making the 
check determination that the sample has had a chance to cool 
considerably. As the test only takes ten seconds, the two tests 
can be made in a half minute at the most, which gives the pulp 
no chance to cool. 

The hydrometer method is not absolutely fool proof, but it 
is as near fool proof as anything I know of. Neither is it the 
acme of perfection in a pulp testing method, but it is, in my 
opinion, far better than anything that has been suggested to date. 
It is simple, and accurate enough for all practical purposes, and 
any ordinary laborer can be shown in a few minutes how to 
make the test, and the chances of error are very small indeed. 

This method will not work where crushed tomatoes are be- 
ing condensed. It is necessary that the tomato juice be previ- 
ously cycloned. The pulp must be homogeneous and not lumpy 
and full of skins to be capable of being tested by the direct 
hydrometer method. When determining the finishing point on 
crushed tomatoes it is best to use either the eye or the specific 
gravity test by weighing. 

Finishing the Cooking 

The steam should be kept on the kettle continuously until 
the batch is done. While testing is being done it is not neces- 



Tiik Manufacture of Tomato Products 37 

sary to shut off the steam. If salt is used it should be scattered 
over the batch slowly a few minutes before it is done. Salt 
increases the specific gravity, and also the hydrometer reading. 
The relation between the hydrometer reading and the specific 
gravity can be worked out just as well where salt is used as 
when it is not used. 

The addition of salt does add to the flavor, and some buyers 
prefer it, while others do not. I have seen buyers pick out a poor 
quality pulp with salt in it in preference to a much better quality 
with no salt. 

As soon as the steam valve is closed the exhaust should 
be opened to discharge the steam from the coil or jacket and 
allow it to cool as quickly as possible. 

It is often necessary to hold batches in the cooking kettles 
for some time after the cooking is finished. This darkens the 
pulp some, both because of contact with the air, while hot, and 
from long contact with the sides of the kettle or coil, which re- 
main hot. Cooked pulp should therefore be discharged from the 
kettle just as soon as possible. If held over 30 minutes in the ket- 
tle it should be given a momentary boil before letting it down. 
Be careful to avoid contamination in the kettle after the steam 
is shut off, such as cold dirty water dripping in from rafters 
overhead, and leaks from pipes over the kettles through which 
cold tomato juice is flowing. Such material will not become 
sterilized merely by contact with the hot pulp, and may cause 
swells in the canned product if there is very much of it. 



CHAPTER V 

CONVEYING THE CONDENSED, STRAINED, OR CRUSHED 

TOMATOES TO THE FINISHING MACHINE 

AND FINISHING SAME 

Conveying to Finisher 

The fewer pipes and receiving tanks the condensed pulp 
passes through before being filled in the cans, the better. All 
of this conveying and finishing equipment offers possibilities 
of contamination, and allows the cooked pulp to cool to some 
extent before it is filled. Eliminate as much equipment as pos- 
sible between the cooking kettle and the filler, and have the pulp 
enter the cans at at least 170 degrees F., and if possible, at 180 
degrees or above. A receiving tank between the cooking ket- 
tles and the filler should be dispensed with if possible, and the 
finishing machine draw the cooked pulp direct from the kettle 
by means of a short line of enamel lined pipe. 

Receiving Tanks 

Unfortunately the arrangement of many plants is such that 
it is almost necessary to use a receiving tank; at least in such 
cases it would be a disadvantage not to have one. Where 
a tank must be used here it should be in such a position that it is 
easily accessible, so that it will not be necessary for a man to be 
an acrobat to get into it, inspect it, and see that it is kept clean, 
and that an inch of pulp is not allowed to lie in it and get cold 
while waiting for another batch to come down. 

The best kind of a tank for this purpose is an enamel or glass- 
lined tank with a rounded, tapering bottom so that it will al- 
most drain itself completely, and what little adheres to the 
sides can be scraped down in a few seconds if it is necessary 
to wait five or ten minutes for a fresh, hot batch to come down. 
Even if it isn't scraped at all it will probably not cause any 
trouble in a tank like this. Wooden tanks will do, of course, 
but it would pay a packer who must use a tank here to throw 
out his wooden one and put in a tank such as is recommended 
above. It is hard to construct a wooden tank so that it will 

[38] 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 



39 



drain well; in fact, nine out of ten scarcely drain themselves 
at all; they are never kept as clean as they should be, and wet 
wood seems to be a favorite spot for molds to grow, so that 
frequent scrubbing is necessary if it is kept sanitary. It is 
most important to inspect the receiving tank carefully before it 
is first used in the morning, as they sometimes mold slightly 
over night, or dirt falls into them from overhead. A steam 
hose should be kept close to a wooden tank to sterilize it at 
night after it is scrubbed out. 

Finishing 

Whether or not a receiving tank is used, the finishing ma- 
chine should be as close to the cooking kettles as possible, and 
should receive constant attention from a careful operator' who 
can comprehend to some degree the importance of keeping it 
clean. If the filling department gets ahead of the cooking de- 
partment and is obliged to wait fifteen minutes or a half hour 
for a fresh batch of pulp to come down, the man who tends to 
the finisher should take it apart at once, wash it off, steam 
it off thoroughly with the steam hose, and put it together again 
so that it will be clean and practically sterile when it receives 
the next batch. Otherwise the. screen and the brushes will be 
clogged up with cold pulp when the fresh batch comes down, 
which is a bad condition, especially if the pulp is not to be 
sterilized after it is filled, which is usually the case with 5-gal. 
pulp. Even though the finisher is operated continuously through 
the day, it should be taken apart and celaned at least twice dur- 
ing the morning and twice during the afternoon. 

The finishing machine should be operated slowly, so that the 
pumice will come out dry. The small receiving box under the 
finisher should drain completely so that it does not have a foot 
of cold pulp lying in it when the finisher is idle. 

Screen Metal for Finisher 

The best kind of screen for the finisher is made of monel 
metal. The brass screen is more common; however, the same 
thing can be had in monel metal, and it does not offer the op- 
portunity for metallic contamination that the brass screen 
does. The monel metal screens wear very well and have proven 
themselves to be satisfactory in every respect. Aluminum 
shpuld not be used, as it is eaten up by the tomato acid and 
will not last long. 



40 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

Effect of Finishing on Mold Count 

The opinion has often been expressed that the brushing of 
the pulp through the fine meshes of the screen breaks up the 
small clumps of mold and scatters them in small threads through- 
out the mass, thus increasing the mold count, since this count 
is not based on the total quantity of mold present, but upon the 
number of microscopic fields containing molds. Thus, by scat- 
tering the mold, instead of allowing it to be retained in com- 
paratively large clumps, the number of microscopic fields con- 
taining mold threads would be increased. 

Although one might reasonably expect this to take place, ex- 
periments have proven that it does not take place. Several 
years ago, in order to determine this point, I analyzed thirty 
batches of catsup just before entering the finisher and again 
just after coming through the finisher. In every case the per- 
centage of microscopic fields containing molds after finishing 
was practically the same as before finishing. A cone-shaped 
finisher with three revolving brushes and fine mesh screen was 
used for this test. 

Finishing Before Cooking 

Although the finishing machine, if properly tended to, is 
probably responsible for very little of the spoilage in pulp, it 
has been suggested to use the finisher before the pulp is con- 
densed. Then the pulp can be drawn direct from the kettle 
to the cans, and the chance of contamination and cooling in the 
finisher can be eliminated. This idea is well worth experiment- 
ing with, as the pulp could be filled at almost the boiling point. 
I have not tried out this idea, but offer it here as a possibility 
which has advantages which are well worth looking into. Pack- 
ers who are having spoilage trouble which they cannot attribute 
to other causes would do well to experiment with it. As to 
whether both the pulp machine and finisher would have to be 
used before the cooking, or whether the finisher alone would do, 
providing the tomatoes were previously crushed, or cooked in a 
"breaking tank," would have to be determined by experiment. 
The method may be in use now by some packers; however, I 
have not heard of it being used. 



CHAPTER VI 

FILLING THE FINISHED PULP AND STORING THE 
CANNED PRODUCT 

Filling Devices for Five Gallons 

The most commonly used containers for pulp are the five- 
gallon can, the No. 10 and the No. 1 can. 

The usual method of filling 5-gal. cans is to draw the pulp 
from the finishing machine by means of a large, heavy wall 
single line hose filling one can at a time. Some packers use a 
manifold by which five cans can be filled at once. This requires 
a lot of valves and enamel lined pipe fittings, and unless the 
operator is very expert the manifold will not do the work any 
taster than a single lire hose. 

Square Can and Round Can 

The square 5-gal. can is preferred by nearly all packers to 
the round can. The round can is hard to handle, hard to stack 
and is very wasteful of space wherever it is stacked. The square 
can is to be preferred in every way. 

Testing for Leaks 

When new cans are being used it shouldn't be taken for 
granted that they are absolutely free from leaks, as it is some- 
times found that a large percentage of a car of cans will run 
bad, and the packer should test representative samples from 
the car as soon as it is received, so that he can reject it and 
secure other cans if the car doesn't test up right. The best 
way to do this testing is with a small tank of water, a one- 
eighth inch air line, giving about four pounds pressure, and a can 
tester. A simple kind of can tester can be easily constructed 
in any blacksmith shop, and merely consists of an iron brace 
to fit around the can and which can be quickly tightened over 
the can and released, and a soft rubber semi-circle to fit tightly 
into the cap hole and which is gripped at the top and held in 
place by one side of the brace. The one-eighth inch brass air 
pipe passes through the center of the rubber semi-circle and 

[41 ] 



42 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

into the can. As soon as the can is tightly clamped and the cap 
hole sealed by the rubber, the air is turned on and the can is 
immersed in the water. The leaks show up very quickly under 
a four-pound pressure, and a dozen cans can be tested in as 
many minutes. 

Washing and Steaming 

New cans, as well as old ones, should be thoroughly washed 
and steamed before filling. There is often a fine, light colored 
dust in new cans which a good strong spray of water properly di- 
rected into the inverted cans will remove. Through the same 
pipe which directs the spray of water into the cans, the cans 
can be steamed by means of a simple arrangement of valves 
on the steam and water pipes. A washing and steaming rack 
can easily be fitted up which will wash and steam a half dozen 
cans at once. A single stream of water entering the cap hole of 
the inverted can is not sufficient to clean it. The pipe which 
enters the cap hole should be capped, and about three holes 
drilled into this cap at a slight slant so that the upward spray 
of water will strike three different spots in the bottom of the in- 
verted can, and make the washing thorough. 

If the average packer could see just how little of the inside 
surface of his 5-gal. cans is actually washed, he would be sur- 
prised. About fifteen seconds is sufficient time to spray the inside 
of the cans, and then the water valve can be closed and the 
steam valve turned on. The steam should be kept on for a full 
minute and kept on strong. The idea is not merely to heat the 
can but to sterilize it, at least to some degree, before the pulp 
is admitted. The average employee steaming 5-gal. cans leaves 
the steam on ten seconds at the most, and often not more than 
three seconds. Such a short steaming does very little good. The 
space of time between the steaming and filling should be just 
as short as possible. The employees should not be permitted to 
keep a half dozen cans steamed ahead all the time so that they 
are cold by the time the pulp enters them. 

Filling and Capping 

As stated in the previous chapter, the temperature of the pulp 
when it is filled should be at least 170 degrees F. and preferably 
above 180 degrees. The cans should be filled clear to the top with 
the pipe or hose which conducts the hot pulp from the finisher; 
they should not be topped off out of a dipper which contains luke 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 



4:; 



warm pulp and is used for topping purposes. It is not necessary 
to do this topping and the practice should not be permitted The 
sponges which are used for wiping the edges of the cap hole 
should be kept in a bucket of clean, hot water, and put back in 
the bucket after being used on a truckload of cans. The cap- 
ping and tipping job should undergo inspection before the cans 
are trucked away. 

Handling Filled Cans 

Cans of filled pulp should be handled carefully. The cans 
should be set down easily, so as to strain the seams as little as 
possible. Of course the laborer wants to let go of cans of red-hot 
pulp just as quickly as possible, but it is not necessary to drop 
them several inches, and the employees should be taught to set 
the can on edge and then let its weight straighten it up. If the 
employee is given good thick gloves it is just as easy to handle 
the cans carefully. I had occasion at one time to check up on 
the percentage of swells resulting from one pile of pulp which 
was stacked by an old hand who knew how to handle pulp easily 
and carefully, and another pile from the same day's run which 
was stacked by a gang of new and uninstructed help who simply 
picked the cans off the truck and dropped them in place. These 
were second-hand cans, and the difference was considerable. 

Both filled cans and empty cans should be handled almost like 
eggs. One large pulp packing concern is particularly cautious 
about this, and it is certainly soothing to the nerves to see their 
employees handling 5-gal. cans after witnessing the rough and 
tumble methods in the average plant. They know that it pays to 
be particular, and that they can get three years' use out of almost 
all of their 135-lb. plate cans, and not have many swells either. 
This concern rarely sells any of their pulp, but puts it up for their 
own use, to be made into bean sauce, catsup, soup, etc., during 
the winter months. 

Advantages of Separating Batches 

Some packers stack their pulp away without dating it; others 
date each day's run; while others stack each batch separately. 
The latter system is practicable where the pulp is cooked in 
large batches of about 300 gallons or more and in working up the 
pulp during the winter months it is a great help. For instance, 
suppose part of the pulp is to be used for catsup and part for 
bean sauce. The packer can take batches one to fifty, for ex- 



44 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

ample, open one can from each batch, examine it for color and 
microscopical analysis and he knows exactly what he has in that 
stack of pulp, which may be three thousand cans. He can select 
the various batches to be used for the purpose to which they are 
best adapted, and he can be absolutely sure that each can in a 
batch is exactly the same in every respect. • 

Take another example: We will say that the packer is sell- 
ing his pulp. His records show that on September 20th and on 
October 2nd, for instance, he had a lot of bad tomatoes; ship- 
ments received on those days were unavoidably held up and he 
had to make the best of the situation. He knows, however, that 
on those same dates he had a lot of good tomatoes which came 
in by wagon haul and that they were run up at the same time. 
He has a large order for pulp from a catsup maker who is very 
particular about the microscopical analysis of the goods he buys. 
In order to play absolutely safe, the packer can take a sample 
from each batch of the pulp run on September 20th and October 
2nd, and if a half dozen batches run too high he can omit them 
when he makes the shipment to this buyer. If he preserved a 
sample from each batch run on these dates at the time they were 
run, which is the better way, it makes the sorting out of this 
pulp a very easy matter. He thus eliminates the danger of the 
loss of a good buyer by sending him even a comparatively small 
quantity of pulp which is high in micro-organisms. 

It may seem to one who has never tried it that stacking each 
batch of pulp separately would involve an awful lot of extra la- 
bor, and loss of valuable space when stacking. As a matter of 
fact, it involves no extra labor at all and no extra space. I have 
had a season's pack of pulp amounting to 75,000 5-gal. cans at 
one plant and cooked in batches of 300 gallons each, stacked each 
batch separate and it was no trouble at all. The inspector who 
examined the tipping and capping job, or the tipper, if the in- 
specting was done by him, merely took a fine stiff brush and a 
marking pot and marked the batch number on the cap of each 
can. This only takes a half minute for a truck load. The date 
was not marked on the can, as a record of the batch numbers run 
on each date during the season was kept at the office. When 
the pulp was piled away each batch was stacked together, and 
where one batch left off and another one began a slip of wood 
was inserted between two of the cans. 

On days when the tomatoes are running bad, or there is a 
scarcity of help for the sorting belt, it is wise to preserve a sam- 
ple from each batch and have an analysis made of it for reference 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 45 

when the pulp is shipped out. On days when a good grade of 
tomatoes are being run it is hardly necessary to analyze every 
batch, but a sample of about every third batch can be taken. 

Stacking each day's run separate is, of course, better than no 
separation at all. However, there are not many days when the 
entire run will have a similar analysis; the best becomes in- 
separably mixed up with the worst, and when the pulp is worked 
up the packer is working in the dark. To stack a season's run 
away without any system of separating various divisions of it is 
the worst kind of folly, and is almost sure to lead to trouble. 

How to Stack 

When the pulp is stacked away a space of at least an inch 
should be left between each can to allow the air to circulate 
and prevent stack burning. If this is not done, a pile of pulp may 
hold the heat for a week or ten days, and the pulp, particularly 
that on the inside, will become brown or even black, due to the 
long exposure to the heat. The quicker the pulp can be cooled, 
the more the bright red color of the tomato will be retained. 

The height to which the pulp is stacked depends upon the 
heaviness of the plate of which the can is made, and also, of 
course, upon the weight the floor of the warehouse is able to 
stand. As a rule it is not wise to pack 5-gal. cans of 107-lb. plate 
over four high, and not over five high for cans of 135-lb. plate. 
Dry, sheltered storage should be provided for pulp, and it will be 
found to pay in the end. Exposure to the elements is very hard 
on the cans, and alternate freezing and thawing of the pulp is 
a great strain on the seams of the can. A comparison of the leaks 
and swells on pulp stored in shelter, and that stored in the open, 
will convince the packer that it pays to construct dry storage 
space. 

Narrow aisleways should be provided for between the stacked 
pulp so that it can be frequently inspected for leaks and swells. 
By pulling out a leaker in time, several other cans are prevented 
from becoming leakers, as the leaking pulp from one can will run 
down on several others, and the pulp, in connection with the 
oxygen of the air, will eat through the tin plate, causing rust 
spots, and then pin holes. Frequent inspection of the pulp pile 
and pulling out cans when they are just beginning to leak or 
swell will save the packer a lot of money. 

Cans should not be stacked on thin boards which will leave 
the surface of the can close to the ground, as the moisture of the 



46 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

ground will quickly rust the tin. It almost seems foolish to 
mention such a point, but much pulp is stacked this way and the 
entire bottom layer when turned up will be moldy and rusty on 
one side. The surface of the can should be at least two inches 
from the ground. Lacquering will help some, but will not pre- 
vent rusting if the cans are close to the ground. 

Processing 

Nothing has up to this point been said about the processing 
of 5-gal. pulp. Very few packers process their pulp, and many 
unprocessed packs have been put up that have not shown over 1 
per cent of leaks and swells where new cans were used and the 
various manufacturing processes were carried out as they should 
be. In many cases a long shipment of such pulp, after having 
been stored in a sheltered place for several months, has produced 
very few additional swells. 

One large packer of pulp has for years given his 5-gal. cans 
a 30-minute process in boiling water, having them pass slowly 
through a boiling water bath on a chain carrier, the speed of 
which is regulated so as to give each can the required time in 
bath. The cans are placed on the chain as soon as they are 
capped and tipped. Although this packer is very careful in his 
manufacturing methods he processes as a matter of insurance, 
principally because a great deal of his pulp is shipped long dis- 
tances. He must figure that it pays him or he wouldn't keep it 
up, as the processing involves quite a little extra handling and 
extra equipment, and of course has a tendency to darken the 
pulp somewhat. 

Thirty minutes at boiling temperature is, of course, not suf- 
ficient time to bring the center of the can near the boiling point, 
but it will sterilize the can itself and that portion of the pulp 
which is near the outside. If the pulp is filled very hot, that por- 
tion of it which is in the center of the can, being the last to cool, 
should practically sterilize itself. 

Life of Cans 

Where a packer puts up pulp in 5-gal. cans for his own use 
during the winter months he ought to be able to get two years' 
use out of all of his cans, and three years out of a large per- 
centage of them. It is questionable whether it is ever advisable 
to use a can over three seasons. One reaches a point where the 
percentage of swells is so large with old cans that the saving of 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 47 

the cans is unprofitable. When a new can is first used, the year 
should be indelibly stamped on the can, so that at any time the 
packer can go through his stock of used cans and tell how many 
seasons' use each can has had. This will prove a help in making 
a decision on which cans are worth holding over for another sea- 
son, and which ones are not. It also gives him a line on the kind 
of can that gives him the most value for his money. 

Enamel-lined cans are now being used a great deal, and as a 
rule they seem to give a little better service than the plain tin, 
although this is not always the case. Some packers think the 
enamel imparts a very slight foreign taste to the pulp, but I have 
never been able to detect it. Enameling or lacquering of the 
outside of the cans is essential if there is not sufficient sheltered 
storage for the pulp, or if it must be stacked in a damp warehouse. 
An excessive amount of moisture in the air will quickly start 
the tin to rusting on plain cans, and many cannery warerooms 
are entirely too moist for stacking cans, as they are near the 
process room, and the air is often misty with the presence of con- 
densing steam from the process tanks. If there is ample dry 
storage space, the outside enameling of the cans does not seem 
to be an advantage. 

Washing and Drying Cans 

When the season's pack of pulp is bejng worked up, the cans 
which are to be saved for another season's use should be 
thoroughly washed out in a tub with hot water. Spraying devices 
will not work, as the top of the can will probably have a layer of 
pulp stuck to it, due to the receding of the pulp in the can when 
it cooled, and even a heavy spray will not remove all of this. The 
cans must be partially filled with hot water and shaken hard to 
properly clean them. The foreman should inspect the washed 
cans at frequent intervals by means of a small electric light which 
is wired to a short rod and which can easily be inserted in the 
can through the cap hole. If the washing is not thoroughly done 
this will show it up quickly. 

After as much of the water as possible is shaken out of the 
cans they should be put in a drying oven and left over night. In 
the morning the cans should be thoroughly dry if sufficient steam 
is kept in the oven radiators. The oven is made with a partition 
which divides it into two parts, and one part can be filled with the 
wet cans while the other side is being emptied of the dry cans. 



48 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

Protection From Dust 

After the cans are dried, a pasteboard insert should be placed 
in the cap holes to keep the dust out of them while they are in 
storage during the winter and spring. One of the can companies 
at least, supplies these pasteboard inserts or inverted caps with 
their cans, and they fit snugly into the cap hole. 

Testing Used Cans 

Before the old cans are used the following year they should 
all be tested for pin hole leaks and the leaks patched up. They 
should then be re-tested and not used until they are shown to 
be tight under air pressure when immersed in water. This can 
be done during the spring and summer months, and the packer 
can then be reasonably sure that his old cans are in good shape 
for the next season's run. If the cans are very old and the seams 
are very rusty, new pin holes will be opened up every time air 
pressure is put in them. Such cans should, of course, be thrown 
away. 

Packing 10's and l's 

Pulp packed in No. 10 and No. 1 cans is usually filled with a 
rotary filling machine, although No. 10's are often filled from a 
single line pipe and the filling can be done quite rapidly where 
the operator is expert at the job. If it is necessary to top any of 
the cans, it should be done from a small jacketed kettle which is 
connected up near the filler, so that the pulp used for topping can 
be kept hot. The cans should be put through a can washer and 
steamer before filling. 

No. 1 pulp should have a much larger call from the consumer 
than it has, and it could be made very popular if a high standard 
of quality was set and maintained, and the advantage of its use 
advertised to the housewife. Many consumers who have pur- 
chased the small size pulp or puree for use in making tomato 
sauce, spaghetti, tomato soup, etc., have been disappointed in the 
quality, and after one trial have gone back to canned tomatoes 
for these purposes. 

For No. 10's a process in boiling water of 40 minutes in the 
old style straight process tank is usually considered sufficient; 
this is to be followed by a very gradual cooling in water so that 
the cans will not buckle badly. For the No. 1 size a 20-minute 
process in boiling water is sufficient. It is always well to cool 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 



4!) 



the cans about ten minutes so they will not retain the heat a 
great length of time. A better color and flavor can be main- 
tained if the goods are cooled in water after processing If a 
continuous agitating cooker is used for processing the lengths 
of time given above can be cut down at least GO per cent. 

Packing Barrel Pulp 

Barrel pulp is scarcely being packed any more, as the barrel 
has shown itself to be unfit for pulp which is packed without pre- 
servative. The use of barrels today is usually only resorted to 
in emergency cases when cans for the purpose are not available. 
If the pulp is to undergo long storage and shipment, or any great 
amount of handling, barrel goods will usually show quite a big loss, 
not only because much of the pulp is spoiled so that the spoilage 
is evident at once upon inspection, but because of the growth of 
yeasts and bacteria in the pulp while it has been in storage, and 
because of loss of color due to the action of air seeping into the 
barrel. Wooden barrels as a rule are not absolutely air tight, 
and it is hard to make them so. 

I have packed pulp in good uncharred whisky barrels, using 
5 lbs. of salt to the barrel, and rolled the barrels to a sheltered 
place where they would not be disturbed until they were ready 
to open, and after two or three months' storage the pulp was 
all right. If this pulp had been moved, or held until a spell of 
warm weather came on, it is doubtful if it would have shown up 
so well. The barrels should be washed out well and steamed for 
about five minutes before being filled, and the bungs should be 
burlapped. 

Metal Drums 

Ingot iron drums, sucn as are used for shipping oil, have been 
recommended for tomato pulp and I have tried them, but they 
will not do, as the tomato acid dissolves too much of the iron. 

A Method of Preserving Pulp in Barrels 

As a method of preserving pulp in barrels one packer for a 
number of years put hydrochloric acid in it. This, being a strong 
acid, is also quite a good preservative, and evidently kept the 
pulp in good shape. When the pulp was worked up, enough bi- 
carbonate of soda was added to neutralize this acid, and the 
result of the neutralization was sodium chloride, or common salt. 



50 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

There evidently could be no objection made to this from a pure 
food standpoint, as none of the acid was left in the pulp after 
the neutralization, and sodium chloride is a common ingredient 
of pulp. However, the process darkened the pulp, which was an 
objection. As to whether or not the flavor was impaired by this 
treatment I do not know. 



CHAPTEE VII 

THE MICRO-ORGANISMS OF TOMATO PRODUCTS; THE 
ATTITUDE OF THE PURE FOOD AUTHORITIES 
TOWARD THEM; AND THE INTERPRE- 
TATION OF ANALYSES 

Micro-Organisms; What They Are 

By micro-organisms we mean molds, yeasts, bacteria, and their 
spores. The term "micro-organisms" takes in all of these. 

This chapter will deal with the subject in as short and con- 
cise a manner as possible, with the object of giving the manu- 
facturer a working knowledge of it that will help him in his 
every-day factory routine. Although volumes have been written 
about micro-organisms in food, it is not necessary for the packer 
of tomato products to have an accurate, detailed scientific knowl- 
edge of the subject in all its ramifications, but a general under- 
standing of it will suffice for practically all purposes. 

What are molds, yeasts, spores, and bacteria? Are they an- 
imals or plants? Where do they grow, and under what condi- 
tions do they multiply most rapidly Are they harmful, or are 
the kinds found in tomatoes all harmless varieties? If they are 
harmless, why does the government object to them? Why is a 
product containing a certain number 'considered all right, while 
when a larger number is present the product is said by the 
government to consist in whole or in part of a filthy, decom- 
posed, putrid vegetable substance? Aren't such foods as Roque- 
fort cheese, cottage cheese, buttermilk, and sauerkraut fairly 
swarming with the same kinds of germs as tomato pulp? Aren't 
these foods all considered healthful? Then why object to these 
germs in tomato pulp? Aren't the germs all killed by the boil- 
ing, anyway? These are questions often asked by pulp pack- 
ers, and it is hoped that the following will throw some light on 
the subject. 

Molds, yeasts, spores, and bacteria are very tiny plants, not 
animals. They are so small that they can only be seen by the 
naked eye when there are very large masses of them together, 
consisting, in the case of bacteria and yeasts, of hundreds of 

[51] 



52 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

millions of small individual plants, and in the case of molds, 
of many individual mold plants closely massed together. 

You have all seen large tufts of white mold on tomatoes, 
and black mold covering a loaf of bread, but you probably did 
not realize the enormous numbers of individual mold plants 
that were present, or the rapidity with which they multiplied 
themselves. You have all seen swelled cans of tomato pulp, and 
after the cans were opened you have noticed the bubbles rising 
in the pulp, and have noted the very sour taste and often an 
extremely disagreeable odor. In every thimbleful of that sour 
pulp there were hundreds of millions of bacteria and yeast cells, 
so small in size that many thousand could collect at the same 
time on the point of a pin and they would not be noticed 
by the naked eye. It was these tiny bacteria and yeast plants 
which caused the physical and. chemical changes in that pulp. 
Just as a parasitic vine winds itself around a tree and sucks 
the life out of it, so these millions of bacteria and yeast plants 
sucked all the goodness out of this tomato pulp, and left nothing 
but sour, decomposed tomato fiber, acid, and foul-smeiling gas. 

Molds 

The structure of the mold plant is similar to that of a very 
small vine, the branches of which are many and are closely 
massed together. The tiny threads or filaments of mold resem- 
ble the vine and its branches. These threads keep sending out 
new shoots which spread rapidly all over the surface the mold 
is growing on, and the fruit of the mold plant, which is called 
spores, is similar to the little berries which grow at the ends of 
the branches of a vine. These berries are the fruit of the vine; 
spores are the fruit of the mold plant. Just as the berries con- 
tain seeds which reproduce the plant, so the tiny spores contain 
the seed which will reproduce the mold plant. These spores 
grow at the end of the mold threads or branches, and when 
ripe, either fall on the surface directly beneath, or are carried 
away by a breath of air and move along with the dust. 

The spores of the mold plant will remain alive for months 
in a dry state, floating in the air, or if the air be very still, 
falling to the surface. The air everywhere is full of them, 
and as soon as they light upon a moist surface, such as tomato 
juice, for example, which contains nourishment for them, they 
begin to send out shoots of mold threads and reproduce another 
mold plant. 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 



53 




*£$"•'* ¥^ 



Fig. 4. — Mold filament from catsup. (xl50.) 

Mold .grows most rapidly upon a warm surface, preferably 
about the temperature of the human body. It will not grow 
on a surface which is at freezing temperature, or on a very hot 



54 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

surface. Under these extremes of temperature it is unable to mul- 
tiply itself. Boiling kills the mold plant, and continued boiling of 
15 minutes or more also kills the seeds or spores of practically 
all species. That is one reason why it is desirable to bring 
peeled tomatoes or tomato juice to a boil as soon as possible — 
so that the mold and mold spores which are always on these 
surfaces will be killed before they have an opportunity to grow. 
There are many different species or varieties of mold plants 
which thrive on tomatoes and tomato pulp, but they are all very 
similar; they reproduce themselves in exactly the same way, 
and they are all arrested in their growth by extremes of tem- 
perature, and are killed by continued boiling. It should not 
be thought, however, that boiling for a very few minutes will 
kill all mold spores, as they have a tough surface which has 
considerable resistance to heat. I have seen 5-gal. pulp packed 
which was only given a very short boil on account of low steam 
pressure, and molds grew in the sealed cans after packing to sue]'. 
an extent that the pulp all had to be thrown away. It is safe 
to assume, however, that a 15-minute boil will kill mold spores 
and prevent the growth of molds in the cans after they are 
sealed, providing, of course, that the pulp is filled hot into cans 
which are clean and almost sterile. 

Bacteria 

Bacteria and yeasts are very much smaller plants than molds. 
While an individual mold plant, growing as stated above like a 
very small vine, branches out and spreads over considerable sur- 
face, bacteria (that is, those forms in which the pulp packer is 
interested) are very short, single rods, which, when multiplied 
in size 500 times by the microscope, appear to be from g"a to 
Vs of an inch long. Yeasts, when multiplied in size 500 times, 
usually appear to be from two to five times as large as a pin 
head. 

The rod-shaped bacteria referred to above are mainly the 
lactic acid, and acetic acid bacteria, both of which produce fer- 
mentation in tomato products. The lactic acid germ is the same 
one which causes milk to sour, while the acetic acid germ is the 
one which produces the acetic acid of vinegar. There are many 
other kinds of bacteria in tomato pulp, many of which are 
small, round cells. However, the bulk of these probably come 
from the soil and are natural to the tomato, and are not 
counted when the number of bacteria per cubic centimeter are 
estimated. The rod-shaped types indicate fermentation. 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 55 

Bacteria reproduce themselves with amazing rapidity. It has 
been found out by watching them multiply under the micro- 
scope that under favorable conditions one germ reproduces 
itself every 30 minutes, and in some cases reproduction is 




Fig. 5. — Rod-shaped bacteria from tomato pulp, common in bad catsups. 
(x500.) 

known to have been even more rapid than that. The method 
of reproduction is by simple division. The rod-shaped bacterium 
is just like a match in shape, only many thousand times 
smaller, and in the space of about 30 minutes it will divide itself 



56 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

in the middle, thus changing itself into two shorter rods. Each 
of these rods grows in length, and each of them then divides, 
making four rods. In 30 minutes more the four rods change 
into eight, etc. It is the simplest method of reproduction 
there is. 

Bacteria also have another method of reproducing themselves 
which they resort to when conditions become unfavorable for 
their growth and they can no longer multiply themselves by 
the simple division method. Such an unfavorable condition 
would be the drying up of the moist surface on which they are 
growing. In this case the rod-shaped bacterium forms one or 
more spores within itself. These bacteria spores are some- 
what similar to mold spores, but are much smaller. However, 
they are only produced by bacteria under unfavorable conditions, 
while the mold plant produces them under all conditions. The 
bacteria spores, like mold spores, have a tough surface which 
gives them high resistance, and they contain the germ of bacteria 
life which can reproduce the species when favorable conditions 
for growth are again encountered. The bacteria spores, therefore, 
float through the air as do the mold spores, remaining in the dry 
state without nourishment for months at a time, and as soon as 
they light upon a moist surface containing the elements for 
growth, even to a very small degree, they reproduce the rod- 
shaped bacteria form, which begins to multiply itself again by 
the simple division method. 

Although most bacteria spores are killed by boiling for 10 
or 15 minutes, there are a few species of extremely high re- 
sistance which have been known to remain alive after several 
hours' boiling. Spores of this nature are infrequent, however, 
and the packer might as well forget that they exist. Not one 
case of spoilage out of a hundred is caused by the presence 
of such spores, and if all food products were cooked a length 
of time sufficient to kill all bacteria spores which might pos- 
sibly be present, the foods would be cooked to death, and unfit 
to eat. 

Yeasts 

Yeasts are very tiny individual cells, and multiply by 
budding, instead of by simple division, as bacteria do. Instead 
of the yeast cell dividing in half, thus producing two cells, it re- 
mains intact, but a bud forms on its outer surface. This bud 
grows in size until it becomes almost as large as the cell which 
produced it, and then it separates from the mother cell, and 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 



57 




Fig. 6. — Yeasts and spherical bacteria from decaying tomatoes. (x500.) 
[The oval bodies are the yeasts, some in budding stage; the bacteria appear 
as small spheres, or pairs of spheres.] 



we have two yeast cells. Each of these two cells then pro- 
duces buds, which again separate, and so on. Like bacteria, 
the multiplication is very rapid under favorable conditions. 
Favorable conditions for yeasts and bacteria are the same as 
they are for mold, that is, a warm temperature, preferably near 
blood heat, and a moist substance which is not too strongly 
acid, and which contains the elements necessary for growth, 
preferably the natural sugar of fruits and vegetables. 

Yeasts are the principal gas-forming agents in the fermenta- 



58 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

tion of pulp. In the production of this gas they consume the 
natural sugar of the tomato. They will multiply by the budding 
method described above as long as they are in a medium which 
is favorable for their growth. As soon as this medium drys 
up, or for some other reason becomes an unfavorable medium 
for the multiplication of the yeast cells, the yeasts resort to spore 
forming, just as bacteria do. These spores are formed within 
the yeast cell, and when the cell wall breaks the spores pass 
off into the air. Like all other spores, they have a high re- 
sistance, and will float around in the dry state and remain 
alive for a very long time. When they light upon a medium in 
which they can grow they reproduce the yeast species, in the 
same manner in which the bacteria spore reproduces the bac- 
teria species from which it was derived. 

Spores 

The spores, then, which are found in tomato products are of 
three different kinds, namely, mold spores, yeast spores, and 
bacteria spores. The greater number are almost always mold 
spores, since the mold plant produces spores under all condi- 
tions, while yeasts and bacteria only produce them under un- 
favorable conditions. When microscopical analyses of tomato 
products are reported, the mold spores and yeast spores are in- 
cluded with the yeasts in the term "Yeasts and Spores." This 
is because a large number of the spores are very similar to yeast 
cells in appearance, and as it would be a laborious process for 
the analyst to separate them, the yeasts and spores are in- 
cluded in cne figure, which greatly simplifies the analysis. The 
bacteria spores are not included in the count of "Yeasts and 
Spores." 

How Germs Retard Their Own Growth 

We will say that we have stacked away a 5-gal. can of pulp 
which contains several living spores of bacteria, as is apt to 
be the case, since the air is full of them, and the pulp is con' 
stantly open to contamination from the air after it is cooked; 
also the spores may be in the empty cans at the time they are 
filled. Why is it, since these few spores are alive, and in a 
favorable medium for their growth, that the rod-shaped bac- 
teria forms which they produce do not multiply to such an ex- 
tent that they will ferment the can of pulp. It was stated 
above that bacteria do not multiply in a strongly acid medium. 



The Manufactube of Tomato Products 



59 



Since the bacteria produce acid as a by-product of their own 
growth, they surround themselves with an acid medium, and 
they thus retard and finally stop their growth by the product 
of their own reproduction. When this acid medium reaches a 




Fig. 7. — Mold spores and filaments. A type frequently foui 
tomatoes. (x300.) 



certain strength the bacteria can no longer multiply, and if 
that can is not moved until used, the chances are it will be 
all right when opened. But if the can is moved, the contents 
are agitated, and these living bacteria are shaken away from 
the acid medium in which they have been suspended, and they 
are shaken into a fresh, sweet medium in which they can again 



60 The Manufacture oe Tomato Products 

begin to multiply. It may therefore follow that if this can is 
moved several times it would be at least partly fermented when 
opened, while if it was left alone it would have remained sweet. 
This illustration shows the desirability of moving pulp as little 
as possible, and as carefully as posible when moving becomes 
imperative. The lack of air in the can will, of course, also re- 
tard bacterial growth, but there is usually a small amount of 
air in the can, and many species of bacteria do not need any 
air whatever for their growth. 

Rapidity of Growth 

Yeasts and bacteria multiply more rapidly than do the molds, 
and that is why pulp which is made from tomatoes or tomato 
peelings which are handled slowly or carelessly usually shows 
a high content of yeasts and bacteria, while the molds may be 
low. As a rule, most of the mold found in pulp was present in 
the original tomatoes, and is found in the pulp because it 
wasn't eliminated in the sorting. But, as a rule, tomatoes are 
not full of yeasts and bacteria unless they are very soft and 
mushy, and it is evident on looking at them that they have 
fermented to some extent. If pulp contains a high count of 
yeasts or bacteria it usually means that this fermentation took 
place in the factory at some stage in the manufacturing process, 
or that the product has been contaminated by fermented tomato 
substance lodged in pipes, troughs, and conveying equipment. 
Often it is due to delay in getting the tomato stock to a boil. 
The laxness in this regard in some factories is surprising, and 
their pulp is almost always high in yeasts and bacteria. 

When you consider the extreme rapidity with which these 
germs multiply, the folly of allowing tomato peelings or tomato 
juice to be very slowly conveyed to a large tank for an hour or 
more before the steam is turned on becomes apparent. Much 
has been written about the rapidity of bacterial reproduction, 
and yet extreme delay in working up tomato stock continues in 
many plants, and we frequently see bacteria counts of a hun- 
dred million or more per cubic centimeter, all of which could 
be easily avoided if the packer would just make up his mind to 
get to the bottom of the cause and apply the simple remedy. 

Just as an illustration we will say that we are putting up 
trimming pulp, and the tomato receipts are rather light and 
the peelers are working slowly, or that there aren't many peel- 
ers working. The trimmings are passed along on a belt con- 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 61 

veyer where they go to a bucket carrier and are lifted to a 
large cypress tank with a coil. They drop into the tank slowly, 
and it may take two hours for the coil to be covered so that 
the steam can be turned on; or after a foot or two of the trim- 
mings have been put in the tank it is lunch time, and it is 
an hour before the filling of the tank continues. This may make 
it three hours before these peelings are brought to a boil. 
Suppose at the time those peelings go into the tank they con- 
tain enough bacteria so that if they were cooked at once, the 
pulp would run 10 million to the cubic centimeter. This is 
very probable. However, they are not cooked at once and at 
the end of 30 minutes you have peelings which, when condensed 
and cycloned, would show close to 20 million bacteria. In an 
hour the first peelings which entered that tank would yield 
40 million, and in iy 2 hrs., 80 million. This is on the basis of 
the bacteria reproducing themselves every 30 minutes. Even if 
they multiply much more slowly than that you can see that in 
the course of a little over an hour you are getting into dangerous 
ground, and in the course of two or three hours the bacteria 
have multiplied to such an extent that the product would 
almost be sure to be condemned if it was picked up by an in- 
spector. If the tomatoes had quite a few soft spots in them 
when they were peeled it is very likely that the peelings would 
yield 20 million bacteria if worked up immediately, and then 
if delay of an hour or more comes on top of that you can see 
where you will be on the bacteria count. The yeasts are also 
probably multiplying at the same time, and the molds are 
growing to some extent. 

Now what this packer should do is to put a small open 
steam jet in the bottom of his cypress tank, with four pipes 
running horizontally, as in a "breaking tank," and turn on the 
steam as soon as the peelings cover these pipes, which lie right 
on the bottom of the tank. The peelings are thus kept at a boil 
until the steam can be turned on the coil, and then the steam 
from the open jet can be shut off. This is a very simple arrange- 
ment to make and will save no end of trouble. 

It must not be thought that because micro-organisms multi- 
ply most rapidly in a warm medium they will not multiply in 
a cold medium, or one which is considerably warmer than blood 
heat— the degree of temperature most favored. The only safe 
extremes are 33 degrees F. for the lower extreme, and 150 
degrees F. or above for the higher extreme. Anywhere between 
these two extremes of temperature there is danger of germ 



62 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

activity, and the nearer the medium is to 98 degrees F., the 
more rapid is the multiplication of the germs. 

As tomato juice contains all the nutritive requirements for 
the growth of micro-organisms, and is not strongly acid, it is 
an ideal medium for them to grow in. There doesn't seem to be 
any medium whatever that molds, yeasts, and bacteria prefer 
to tomatoes and tomato juice. 

The Government Attitude on Micro-Organisms 

What are the objections of the pure food authorities to the 
presence of large numbers of micro-organisms in tomato prod- 
ucts, and how do they substantiate their objections? We know 
that all of these germs that grow in tomato products are harm- 
less. Even if an occasional harmful germ should enter it would 
not be discovered by the method of analysis employed, and 
unless it was in the spore form and of extremely high resistance 
it would be killed by the boiling. 

We know that buttermilk and sauerkraut are full of bacteria, 
and that th'e latter is also full of yeasts, and that these two 
foods are recommended by physicians as being particularly 
healthful because of the lactic acid they contain, which is pro- 
duced by the lactic acid bacteria — the same kind that are con- 
demned in tomato products. 

In sauerkraut we know that these lactic acid bacteria and 
yeasts are killed by the cooking, just as they are in tomato 
products, which seems to make the two cases analogous. In 
buttermilk and cottage cheese, however, they are alive and 
growing, and these products are considered healthful. Roquefort 
cheese is full of a green mold which gives it its characteristic 
flavor and color, and it is considered healthful. Then why 
object to molds in tomato products? 

The difference is that in one case we have a controlled 
and regulated fermentation, which is . confined to one or more 
species, which in combination with the characteristic elements 
of that particular food produce a healthful by-product or de- 
sirable flavor. In the other case we have an unregulated and 
uncontrolled fermentation, produced by a variety of species of 
micro-organisms. In tomatoes we have a number of species 
of molds; we have a great many different species of wild yeasts, 
many of which produce by-products of a disagreeable character; 
and we have a number of species of bacteria, chief among which 
are the lactic acid and acetic acid types, which change the 






The Manufacture of Tomato Products G3 

tomato pulp from a sweet product, as it should be, to a sour one. 
The objections of the government are therefore more con- 
fined to the by-products which are produced by the growth of 
these germs than to the germs themselves. It is the contention 
that the by-products produced in tomato products by many of 
these germs are such as to be classed as a filthy, putrid, de- 
composed vegetable substance. Just how many of these germs a 
product may contain before it is sufficiently decomposed to be 
classed as filthy and putrid is a question. The government 
tries to play safe in the matter, and give the packer a fair 
deal. When they condemn a tomato product as unfit for food it 
isn't because it contains only an average quantity of micro- 
organisms, but because the number of germs present, and the 
decomposition produced, is such as to indicate extreme laxness 
in sanitation and lack of care in the manufacturing processes, 
or the admittance of quite a large percentage of rotten material. 
The spoilage may be either primary or secondary, that is, it 
may be due to the use of a lot of partly rotten, moldy tomatoes 
at the start, which were not carefully sorted, or it may be due 
to fermentation which takes place in the factory, caused by 
extreme delay or by unsanitary equipment. In primary spoilage 
the mold is usually very high and the yeasts and bacteria may 
be low, while in secondary spoilage either the yeasts or bac- 
teria, or both, will be high, and the molds may be low. This 
will be explained further later in this chapter. 

Government Regulations 

When the government regulations on tomato products were 
first published it was stated that for catsup the microscopical 
counts should not run above the following: 

Molds in 25% of the microscopic fields. 

Yeasts and spores — 25 in l/60th cubic millimeter. 

Bacteria — 25 million per cubic centimeter. 

It was also stated that pulp which was to be converted 
into catsup should not contain more than half this number of 
micro-organisms, as allowance must be made for the increase 
due to concentration. 

The fact that pulp and catsup can be made to keep within 
these limits has been demonstrated a number of times, but 
I have yet to see a season's run, all of which, or even 50% of 
which, will come within these limits. It is easy enough to run 



64 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

individual batches which by careful supervision over the sorters 
will have a very low count of molds, etc., but regardless of the 
precautions a man will take to safeguard himself, there is 
almost bound to be at some time in the season some manufac- 
tured goods that will run over these limits. The packer, how- 
ever, should k^eep these limits in mind as an ideal to work to, 
not on one batch, but on a season's run, but it is not an easy 
goal to attain, and in my opinion the government doesn't expect 
it to be attained very often. The packer has to contend with 
a glut of tomatoes in September almost every year; it is dif- 
ficult to get good help to do the sorting and to supervise the 
sorting; unfavorable weather conditions make the tomatoes 
moldy and full of rot; delayed shipments come in in very bad 
condition; machinery breaks down at the most unexpected times, 
and necessitates delay in the factory at critical moments; the 
help get careless about the cleanliness of the equipment, and 
run through some goods before the unclean parts are discovered; 
accidents occur in the power plant and the plant may have to 
run on inadequate steam for two or three days, etc., etc. Every 
packer has been up against these things, but as a rule pure food 
inspectors have not, and they are sometimes slow to appreciate 
the packers' side of the case. This is particularly true of local 
health inspectors who have had no experience with food manu- 
facturing problems, and sometimes permit a packer to receive 
a lot of unfavorable and unjust newspaper publicity. 

The heads of the government pure food departments, that is, 
the high officials of the Bureau of Chemistry, intend to play 
very fair with canners, and it must be admitted that they will 
go a long way with a man who is making an honest and de- 
termined effort to pack his goods in the right way, and who 
is taking advantage of the opportunities he has to post himself 
on modern methods of packing his products. The packer should 
remember that the product of a plant that is run in an unsani- 
tary way is always under suspicion by the government, and that 
shipments from these plants are the ones which are apt to be 
watched by the government agents. The government can go 
into any railroad office, whether government or privately con- 
trolled, ask the agent to show them the bills of lading on ship- 
ments, and notify their inspector at destination to take samples 
of the car on arrival. 

Getting back to the subject of established limits for micro- 
organisms, in the fall of 1916 the government authorities named 
the point at which they were recommending condemnation pro- 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products G5 

ceedings. The notice, which was issued by the Bureau of 
Chemistry of the Department of Agriculture, stated that at the 
present time they were not advising condemnation of tomato 
products unless the micro-organisms exceeded at least one of 
the following counts: 

Molds in 6G% of the microscopic fields. 

Yeasts and Spores — 125 in 1 /60th cubic millimeter. 

Bacteria — 100 million per cubic centimeter. 

This is a long way from the limit of 25 on each count, which 
the government formerly stated should not in their opinion 
be exceeded. At the same time, however, Mr. Howard of the 
Bureau of Chemistry made a statement to the effect that they 
still considered it possible under manufacturing conditions to 
make these products to comply with the original 25-25-25 limit, 
and that it was their intention to approach the original limits 
more closely. It should not be understood that the government 
thinks that products which run below the higher limits are good 
enough, because they decidedly do not, but at present they are 
not recommending for condemnation those products which run 
below these figures. 

State Food Officials 

What about the state pure food boards? Do they follow 
the government lead in this matter or act according to their 
own ideas? Some follow the government and some do not. 
Some state officials are quite lenient while others are very strict. 
A product which one would pass as being all right, another would 
condemn. *I have seen state officials condemn catsup which I 
am quite sure the government would pass, although it wasn't as 
good as it should have been. If the manufacturer had cared to 
carry it to the courts there would have been an even chance of 
him winning out. However, the loss of prestige due to the pub- 
licity of such action is often greater than the loss of the manu- 
factured goods would be. and as a rule the manufacturer does not 
contest the case. Publicity is a powerful whip in the hands of 
the government and state officials. 

Checking Up Daily Runs 

What is the manufacturer to do about checking up his 
daily runs of pulp and catsup during the season? Is it better 
for him to send his samples to a commercial laboratory, or to 
employ an analyst to work at his factory, or to do the best he can 



GG The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

in the sorting and in the factory routine, assuming that if he 
uses proper care here his products are sure to analyze all right 
and. he doesn't need to worry. 

This problem has been discussed a great deal. To employ 
an analyst on the place is usually rather expensive for a small 
packer if the man is fully competent to do the work, and unless 
he is, he is worse than useless. To send samples to an outside 
laboratory often involves considerable delay in getting the 
reports, and by the time the results are known the goods are 
stacked away and almost forgotten. If they ran high in micro- 
organisms there was some cause for it, and that cause should 
have been remedied at once, and probably would have been had 
the analysis been reported within a day or two. Therein lies 
the chief advantage of getting an analysis quickly. An analysis 
on products which have been run a week previously is, of course, 
better than nothing, but it is far from being satisfactory. 

The third method, that is, relying upon care in the factory 
and having no analysis made, was at one time recommended, 
but it is not now considered good policy. In a great many cases 
where this policy was adopted it was found out when it was too 
late that much of the goods that was thought to be all right was 
decidedly off. There were undiscovered errors in the manufac- 
turing process, and they remained undiscovered because there 
was no means of checking them up. 

My advice in this matter is to have an analyst trained for 
this work and employ him at your factory if you are so far 
from a reputable analyst that it will take some little time to 
get a report. The Research Laboratories of The National Can- 
ners Association at Washington is undertaking the training of 
men in this analytical work for those companies that desire it. 
If the packer is close enough to a reputable analyst to get a 
report within a day or two he will find that such an arrange- 
ment is usually satisfactory, and he should rush his samples 
with all possible speed, and request the analyst to wire the 
report if the analysis is high. 

Then there is the problem of what laboratory to send 
samples to. Will any reputable chemical or bacteriological lab- 
oratory do for this purpose? Many packers have made a mis- 
take right here, and the analyses they have received have been 
worse than nothing because they were not only grossly in- 
accurate but misleading. They have gone on thinking their 
goods were all right and have found out later by some accident 
that they were all wrong. 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products G7 

Although an analyst may be a good microscopist and fully 
competent to do general bacteriological or biological work, he 
cannot possibly get a correct microscopical analysis on tomato 
products unless he is familiar with the Howard method as 
used by Mr. Howard. This means that he must use the exact 
technique that Mr. Howard uses in his laboratory. Every 
manipulation, no matter how slight, must be made in precisely 
the same manner that Mr. Howard makes it; otherwise the 
results are worthless. An analyst, in order to be competent to 
use the method, must either work with Mr. Howard until he 
can check him on all kinds of samples, or he must work with one 
of the analysts that have been closely associated with Mr. 
Howard in this work. If the analyst has had factory experi- 
ence and can assist the packer in running down the causes of 
high counts, that is a great advantage. 

How to Interpret Analyses 

We will say that a sample of pulp taken from one of the 
daily runs has been sent to an analyst, and the report on it 
is as follows: 

Molds in 70% of microscopic fields. 

Yeasts and Spores — 10 in l/60th cubic millimeter. 

Bacteria — 12 million per cubic centimeter. 

What does that analysis mean? 

The first item means that the analyst examined through the 
microscope 50 views of a thin layer of the pulp on a slide, and 
that out of these 50 views, 35 of them contained sufficient mold 
to count them as positive fields, so that molds were found to be 
present in 35 out of 50 fields, or in 70% of them. 

The second item means that from another prepared slide of 
this pulp (which slide is so ruled that the volume of liquid on 
any given space of it can be measured) there were found to 
be 10 yeasts and spores in l/60th of a cubic millimeter. A cubic 
millimeter is about l/5th of a drop, and 1/G0th of a cubic milli- 
meter is therefore about 1 /300th of a drop — an exceedingly small 
quantity, almost inconceivable. The best way to conceive it is to 
think of one drop of pulp mixed in 299 drops of water, and a 
drop taken from this exceedingly dilute mixture. In this 
almost inconceivably small amount of pulp there were 10 yeasts 
and spores. 

The third item means that in the same slide in which the 



68 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

yeasts and spores were counted there were found to be 12 
million rod-shaped bacteria in each cubic centimeter. A cubic 
centimeter is about 20 drops. 

More important to the packer than the above, however, is 
the interpretation of the analysis from the factory standpoint. 
What does it indicate about the way the tomatoes were handled 
and worked up? The molds are high and the yeasts and bacteria 
are low. It means that in all probability the tomatoes were 
not properly sorted, but that they were worked up rapidly 
enough after the sorting. It indicates primary spoilage, but 
little or no secondary spoilage. If there had been secondary 
spoilage, either the yeasts or bacteria or both would be high. 
It is a tip for the packer to watch the sorting belt closely. 

We will say that the report on another sample is as follows: 

Models in 20% of the microscopic fields. 
Yeasts and Spores— 70 in l/60th C. M. 
Bacteria — 110 million per C. C. 

What is indicated by that analysis? 

It shows that the tomatoes were probably sorted all right, 
and that the primary spoilage is probably small, but that there 
is a very strong indication of secondary spoilage, that is, spoilage 
which took place in the factory. Unless the tomatoes were 
extremely soft and partially fermented when they were run up, 
there was probably great delay at some stage in the manufac- 
turing process, or some of the equipment was in a very unsani 
tary condition and the fresh goods became contaminated with 
fermented tomato substance which was carried over with it a 
little at a time 

Suppose the analysis. ran as follows: 

Molds in 20 r / r of the microscopic fields. 
Yeasts and Spores— 25 in 1/G0th C. M. 
Bacteria — 110 million per C. C. 

This also indicates secondary spoilage. The same conditions 
are indicated in this analysis as in the preceeding one. The only 
difference is that instead of the fermentation being conducted 
by both yeasts and bacteria, it was conducted by bacteria alone. 
In other cases the yeasts and spores may run high and the 
bacteria low, indicating" that the fermentation was one of yeasts, 
and not bacteria. If all three of the counts run high it indi- 
cates that either the tomatoes were very moldy and soft to 
begin with and were improperly sorted, or that they were 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 69 

both improperly sorted and that the pulped juice was improperly 
handled in the factory. It is almost a sure indication of primary 
spoilage, and points very strongly to secondary spoilage also. 

There has been considerable criticism of the Howard method 
of analyzing tomato products, and it cannot be denied that the 
method is far from being ideal. It is the best method that we 
have, however, and the packer can be sure of one thing, namely, 
that if his products are made right they will never show a 
high test by this method. It is true that all improperly made 
goods do not give a high test by this method, and that is one 
objection to it. These cases, however, are infrequent. The 
method of estimating all three counts has also been criticized 
as being unfair and not in accordance with the best bacterio- 
logical practice. If anything better was suggested the Bureau 
of Chemistry would no doubt be glad to adopt it, but so far as 
I know, no improvement has been offered. 



PART II 



The Manufacture of Tomato Catsup, 

Chili Sauce, Trimming Pulp, 

and Tomato Soup 



CHAPTER VIII 

A DISCUSSION OF PRESERVATIVE AND NON-PRESERVA- 
TIVE CATSUPS, AND THE MOST FREQUENT 
CAUSES OF INFERIORITY 

Unfavorable Publicity on Preservatives 

When the pure food movement first swept over this country 
the subject of preservatives got very wide publicity, and the 
sensational press fed the people up on the news that their food 
was being doctored with all sorts of chemicals. Tomato catsup 
came in for its share of this publicity, and the two preservatives 
most commonly used in catsup, namely, benzoate of soda and 
salicylic acid, were classed among the chemicals that were 
ruining our stomachs. 

Although salicylic acid has been ruled out, benzoate of soda 
is still being used to some extent. The great bulk of the catsup 
now being manufactured, however, is made without preservative, 
because packers realize that a good percentage of the public 
became prejudiced against preservatives of all sorts during the 
pure food agitation, and a great many are still prejudiced 
against even so mild and harmless a preservative as benzoate 
of soda. There are those who still maintain that this preserva- 
tive is or may be harmful when used to the extent of one-tenth 
of one per cent, which is the permissible amount according to 
the federal law; however, the Remsen board appointed by Pres- 
ident Roosevelt to decide the benzoate question unanimously 
decided that when benzoate of soda is used in condiments to 
the extent of one-tenth of one per cent it is perfectly harmless. 
It was even found to be perfectly harmless in much larger pro- 
portions. 

These facts, however, have never reached the masses, most 
of whom never heard of the Remsen board, and even if they 
had, a great many people would still remain prejudiced. Most 
packers think, therefore, that it is best to play safe and make 
their catsup without chemical preservative, relying solely upon 
sterilization to keep their product from spoiling up to the time 
the bottle is opened, and upon so called "natural" preservatives 
to keep it from fermenting after the cork is drawn. 

[73] 



74 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

"Natural" Preservatives 

That these "natural" preservatives, when present in large 
quantity, as they sometimes are, may be more harmful to the 
stomach than a minute quantity of benzoate of soda, is surely 
a reasonable supposition. I have known of people getting sick 
directly after a meal by eating a good deal of catsup of high 
acidity on a steak and drinking milk along with it. At least 
the sickness was attributed to this combination, and it doesn't 
seem unreasonable. A high acetic acid acidity will keep catsup 
as well or better than 1/lOth of 1% of sodium benzoate will. 
There are catsups on the market made "without preservative" 
that would probably never ferment, even if exposed to the air 
for a year, because they contain so much acetic acid. The raw 
acetic acid is, of course, not permitted to be used, but a very 
strong distilled vinegar is used containing about 10% of acetic 
acid. 

The "natural" preservatives of catsup are the vinegar, sugar, 
salt, and spices. The vinegar probably exerts 80% of the pre- 
serving property, the sugar about 10% and the salt and spices 
together 10%. The sugar would have much greater preserving 
properties if it was present in higher concentration as in pre- 
serves or jelly. It is doubtful if the preservative properties of 
sugar are very great when it is only present to the extent of 
about 10 or 15%, and the product is of a liquid nature like catsup. 

Proper Acidity 

The proper thing for a packer of non-preservative catsup to 
do is to strike a happy medium on acidity; use enough vinegar 
to keep it under almost any conditions, but not so much as to 
almost entirely mask the tomato flavor and require sugar in 
such large quantity as to make the final product resemble to- 
mato preserves. A good total acidity is 1.25%, figured as acetic 
acid. This figure includes both the acetic acidity of the vinegar 
and the natural acidity of the tomato. If a catsup is properly 
manufactured, this acidity should answer practically all pur- 
poses. The catsup packer should not be expected to make catsup 
which will keep in perfect condition in restaurants where abso- 
lutely no care or intelligence is used in handling it. This 
class of restaurant proprietor is fortunately in a decided mi- 
nority, but rather than make a catsup that will be so strongly 
acid that it will stand up under his treatment, he should be 
educated to use a little care in the handling of the catsup. 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 75 

The following is a common abuse in restaurants. We will 
say, for example, that three catsup bottles are on the tables 
containing from a half inch to two inches of catsup. The wait- 
ress does not like to put a bottle which is almost empty before 
a customer, so she pours the contents of two of the three bottles 
into the other one. The catsup in these bottles may be a week 
old. When the contents of the bottle containing this mixture 
are almost gone she pours the rest of it into another partly 
filled bottle and so on, so that some of the bottles may contain 
catsup which is over a month old, and in a warm, poorly venti- 
lated restaurant it is apt to start fermenting. The proprietor 
should be educated to the fact that when using a non-preserva- 
tive catsup he must not pour it from one bottle to another, but 
must leave it in the original container until almost gone, and 
then use the balance for making tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, 
and for flavoring soups, gravies, etc. 

One advantage the packer using benzoate of soda has over 
the non-preservative packer is that he can make his catsup so 
that it will keep properly and at the same time maintain the 
natural tomato flavor to a high degree. The tomato flavor is 
maintained because it is not largely masked by the use of a lot 
of vinegar and sugar. The packer using benzoate rarely uses 
more than a third as much vinegar or half as much sugar as 
the non-preservative packer. 

Many non-preservative catsup makers who read this will think 
a total acidity of 1.25% is higher than necessary. They will say 
to themselves that the acidity on their catsup never runs over 1%, 
and they have never had any complaints. It may be that they 
do not have a very big restaurant trade where so many of the 
fermentation complaints come from, or that they do not have a 
very wide distribution of their product so that it is subjected 
to all sorts of climatic conditions, or it may be that they are 
having a case of fermentation now and then in households 
but never hear about it. In that case the housewife usually 
merely drops that brand and buys another one next time. But 
where a restaurant or hotel is having fermentation trouble, 
the manufacturer is sure to hear about it quick. 

It is wise to allow a fair margin of safety, and my experi- 
ence is that a total acidity of 1.25% is not too high. Quite a 
few catsup packers maintain an acidity between 1.50% and 
1.75%, and one large concern has for years kept the acidity 
of their catsup around 2%. This, however, seems unnecessarily 
high. Acidity will be discussed further in the next chapter. 



7G The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

Processing Catsups 

Non-preservative catsups should either be processed after 
filling and sealing, or the bottles should be sterilized before 
filling and the catsup filled very hot without giving an after 
sterilization. Catsups made with the addition of benzoate of 
soda are not processed; however, the fact that benzoate is used 
should not cause laxness at any stage in the manufacturing 
process. It is a mistake for manufacturers to think that l/10th 
of 1% of benzoate of soda will keep their product in perfect 
condition regardless of how careless they are in their manu- 
facturing processes. 

Advantage of Benzoate Catsups 

Some brands of benzoate catsup enjoy a very good sale, and 
are popular with those who do not like a strongly acid and 
sugary catsup, but prefer one which is mild and in which the 
predominating flavor is one of tomato blended with mild spicing. 
A restaurant using a catsup or chili sauce of this character 
will almost always use more of it than they will o f a strongly 
acid catsup which is highly spiced. If the catsup is mild, 
more of it is usually used at a time. 

Causes of Poor Color and Flavor 

The chief objections to most of the catsups on the market 
are a lack of bright red color, and a more or less scorched taste. 
This may be due to a number of causes. The brownish color 
may be due to underripe tomatoes, or to tomatoes which were 
picked during a spell of cold, dark weather. It takes sunshine 
to give tomatoes a brilliant color, and when there is an ab- 
sence of sunshine for a week or ten days many of the tomatoes 
will rot before they attain a bright red color. At such times 
during the season it is impossible to get a brilliant color, but 
if the packer will exercise as much control as he is able to 
over the picking, persuading the farmers to hold their tomatoes 
back just as long as possible, he will not have a great deal of 
such goods and he can get a fair color out of what he does 
get, out of these dull colored tomatoes. He should be careful 
not to mix brownish tinted catsup with the brilliant red goods. 
If he will keep similar shades of catsup in the same shipment 
he is not nearly as apt to have complaints as he will have if he 
mixes different colors.- It is even more important that all the 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 77 

bottles in one case should be very nearly alike. A grocer who 
receives a case of catsup all of which is very slightly off in 
color will usually not complain unless it is decidedly off. If, 
however, off colored bottles are mixed in the same case with 
bottles of a brilliant red color, the poor colored goods suffer 
greatly by comparison, and then there is apt to be a complaint. 

The other causes of poor colored catsup are scorching at 
some stage in the manufacturing process and too much cooking. 
By too much cooking is not only meant too long a cook at one 
time, but also too much cooking in the aggregate. For example, 
a packer receives tomatoes of good color and he cooks them 
into pulp, which requires a cook of thirty minutes. He 
packs the pulp in No. 10 cans and sterilizes it about forty min- 
utes, and he has a good colored pulp, as it has only received two 
short cookings. He stores this pulp for several months, and 
then makes it into catsup. It is reheated, which is hard on the 
color, as heat applied to cold pulp for five minutes to bring it 
to a boil seems to hurt the color as much as a half hour added 
on to the cook after the pulp is hot. After reheating, it is cooked 
into catsup, which requires about thirty minutes, and after being 
bottled it is sterilized at a high temperature for about an hour, 
which makes the fourth cooking those tomatoes get. This is 
what is meant by too much cooking in the aggregate. Too long 
a cook at one time will, of course, also darken the product. 

Scorching is more frequent with catsup made from pulp 
than with that made from fresh tomatoes. Much of the catsup 
made from pulp, although not actually scorched, has a very 
faint scorched flavor to it. 

It is hard indeed to make catsup from pulp which tastes 
like the goods which is bottled from freshly run tomatoes. It 
falls behind in both color and flavor. One finds that color and 
flavor are very closely associated in catsup. A bright red 
catsup is practically always a fine flavored product, while a dull 
colored catsup with a brownish cast to it very frequently has 
a more or less unpleasant taste with the suggestion of being 
somewhat scorched. 

Advantage of Direct Conversion of Tomatoes Into Catsup 

Many catsup makers are doing away with winter packing 
almost altogether. They bottle at least 90% of their catsup direct 
from fresh tomatoes. Half of the remaining 10% is made from 
50% fresh tomatoes and 50% pulp, the pulp being added about 



78 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

ten minutes before the cooking is completed. This fresh tomato 
and pulp mixture makes a much better flavored product than one 
can expect to get from straight pulp. Pulp can always be used 
in combination with fresh tomatoes at the beginning and at the 
c'ose of the season when the tomato receipts are light 

Catsup made direct from tomatoes is not only of superior 
quality, but it can be manufactured at least 20c a dozen cheaper 
for the pint size than catsup made from canned pulp. In many 
cases the difference will run more than that. Packers who put 
up a general line of tomato products will do well to reserve 
their fresh tomatoes for catsup, and to use their puln for bean 
sauce, spaghetti sauce, tomato soup, etc., all of which can be 
made better from pulp than one can make catsup from pulp. 

Thickness 

The thickness of catsups found on the market is fairly 
uniform, and there is rarely a cause for complaint on this 
score. When catsup is packed in cans, the thicker it is the 
better the buyer likes it as a rule; however with bottled goods 
excessive thickness is not a virtue but a cause of much annoy- 
ance to the consumer. It is better to have it just a shade too 
thin than too thick. 

Spicing and Sweetness 

Improper spicing of catsups is not a common fault either. 
Even where essential oils are used exclusively for spicing, a real 
good flavor can be had if the oils are properly administered. 
As to sweetness, many catsup makers are coming to the con- 
clusion that the public is demanding a slightly sweeter catsup 
than was generally packed eight or ten years ago. There is 
very little doubt but what a composite sample from a half dozen 
prominent brands of today, if compared with a composite 
sample taken from the same brands ten years ago, would show 
quite an increase in sweetness. One of the largest selling brands 
on the market has a distinct sweetish taste, and the public, at 
least a large percentage of it, seems to like it. There are still 
many who like a tart or slightly sour taste, but the tendency 
is unquestionably in the other direction. 

"Black Neck" 

A rather common defect in bottled catsup is what is com- 
monly called "black neck," which is a darkened space in the 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 79 

neck of the bottle, all the way from a half inch to over two 
inches in depth. Several years ago I made a very thorough 
investigation of the causes of black necked catsup, and every 
thing seems to point to the fact that in nine cases out of ten it 
comes from leakage of air into the closure of the bottle. The 
space between the suface of the catsup and the top of the bottle 
should be a vacuum if the seal is perfect, as this space is left 
by the contraction of the catsup in the bottle when it cools. 
Many closures, no matter what style, do not seem to be entirely 
impervious to air, and the catsup gradually darkens as the air 
is gradually admitted. A suggestion for overcoming "black 
neck" will be given later under the head of "stacking catsup." 

General Attractiveness 

The general attractiveness of the package is, of course, 
important. A cheap, unvarnished label which quickly becomes 
dirty looking, and a cheap tin cap which gets black and filthy 
looking on the inside after the catsup has been open a few days, 
do not enhance the sale of a product, and only make a very 
slight reduction in the manufacturing cost. The packer should 
by all means use either a retinned cap or an inside enameled 
cap. Ordinary plain tin caps should be absolutely barred, as 
they are entirely unfit for a bottled condiment which contains 
as much acid as catsup. 

Although the remarks in this chapter have been confined to 
catsup, it should be understood that they apply equally to chili 
sauce, which only differs from catsup in that it is made from 
peeled instead of strained tomatoes, and is usually a little bit 
more spicy. 



CHAPTEK IX 

A DISCUSSION OF THE INGREDIENTS OF CATSUP; WHEN 

AND HOW THEY SHOULD BE ADDED; AND THE 

AMOUNTS OF EACH PER 100 GALLONS 

OF FINISHED CATSUP 

Practically all of this chapter will be devoted to non-preserva- 
tive catsup. The use of benzoate of soda and the changes in 
the formula which its use involves will be briefly discussed 
at the end of the chapter. 

Measuring the Volume of Tomato Juice 

When catsup is being manufactured direct from tomatoes 
the tomatoes should be previously cycloned, either by the cold 
or hot process. I have never cooked catsup direct from crushed 
tomatoes, as it is evident that crushed stock is open to at least 
two objections. The first is that the finishing point would be 
rather hard to gauge accurately, due to the presence of so many 
peelings, and the second is that when the peelings and seeds 
are screened out by the finishing machine they would no doubt 
carry some of the ingredients with them, chiefly sugar, which 
would be a waste. 

If the tomato juice is delivered to the catsup cooking kettle 
from a "breaking tank," as it is in the hot pulping method, the 
volume of tomatoes to be used per batch of catsup is measured 
on the "breaking tank," and the cycloned juice is delivered from 
this tank to the catsup cooking kettle as the condensation 
gradually allows more and more of it to be taken care of. 

If the cold pulping process is used some other method of 
measuring the tomatoes for each batch must be used. One way 
is to have the catsup cooking kettle built high enough so that 
it can hold the entire volume of cycloned juice required for 
the batch without boiling over when the steam is turned on. 
The juice is then pumped over to a certain measure on the kettle 
before the cooking is begun. This requires very high cooking 
tanks. Another way is to take over as much juice as the 
kettle will hold and concentrate it, and then shut off the steam 
and take over another measured volume according to a gauge 

[80] 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 81 

on the inside of the tank which reaches from top to bottom, 
and is marked off in gallons. If this method is used the cooking 
kettles need not be so high. Another way is to use a meter on 
the pipe line between the cyclone and the cooking kettles, which 
will register, within twenty-five gallons, the volume of tomato 
juice being pumped over. 

It is, of course, an advantage to start the cooking as soon as 
the coil or jacket is covered, so as to kill growing micro-organ- 
isnis as quickly as possible, and it is also an advantage to keep 
the contents of the kettle vigorously boiling from the time the 
coil or jacket is covered with the fresh juice until the batch of 
catsup is finished. 

None of the ingredients should be added until all of the 
tomato juice for the batch is in the kettle, with the exception 
of the bag of spices. 

It is usually not considered advisable to cook batches of 
catsup of over 300 gallons when finished. I have cooked as 
much as 400 gallons at a time, but it requires quite a long 
cook to complete the condensation unless the tank has a large 
surface for evaporation and a coil with a very large cooking 
capacity, and a high steam pressure is available. 

Amount of Tomatoes 

In discussing the proper amounts of the various ingredients 
to use, a batch of finished catsup of 100 gallons in volume, when 
measured hot, will be taken as the basis throughout this chapter. 

The amount of tomatoes required to make 100 gallons of 
finished catsup varies according to the season of the year and 
the quality of the stock. If the tomatoes are watery, or contain 
so much rot that 25% or more must be cut away, that of course 
makes a big difference. If, on the other hand, the tomatoes are 
large and meaty, and contain scarcely any rot, a comparatively 
small amount of them are required. Taking tomatoes of average 
size, containing an average amount of solid matter, and from 
which 10% by weight of rotten material is sorted out, it is 
safe to figure on 37 bushels of tomatoes or 59 %th bushel baskets 
for 100 gallons of finished catsup. 

Keeping Batches Uniform 

If the catsup batches are to be kept uniform in size through- 
out the season, as they should be, the quantity of tomatoes per 



82 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

batch will have to be changed slightly from time to time ac- 
cording to the amount of water they contain. The only safe way 
is to put a gauge on each cooking tank which marks the desired 
volume of catsup when cooked, and to vary the volume of tomato 
juice per batch to the extent which is indicated by the gauge. If 
the batches are running two inches low, the cook will know by 
a little experimenting just how much extra juice will be re- 
quired per batch to make it right. 

Having all the batches come out exactly the same in size 
is important, both in preservative and non-preservative goods. 
In the former, the percentage of preservative cannot, of course, 
be kept uniform unless the batches are kept uniform in size. 
In non-preservative goods it is advisable to keep the percentage 
of acetic acid — that ingredient upon which the keeping quality 
chiefly depends — as nearly uniform as possible. Of course, if a 
batch runs large, the acetic acid percentage will be low, while 
if the batch runs small, the acetic acid percentage will be higher 
than necessary. The spicing will also be more uniform if the 
batches are uniform in size. 

Use of Spices in a Sack 

Where the spices are put in a sack, the sack is usually tied 
to the coil, if this type of cooking tank is being used, and where 
a jacketed kettle is used, there being no place to tie the sack, 
it is usually just thrown on top of the boiling tomato juice and 
allowed to float around near the surface during the boiling. 
One concern uses a long pole which is suspended from overhead 
and reaches to within a foot of the bottom of the jacketed kettle. 
The sack is tied to this pole, and it is thus held down during 
the boiling. As to whether any flavor is actually lost by allow- 
ing the spice bag to float near the surface is a question. This 
could easily be determined by an analysis of the spice residue. 

Use of Spices Direct and When to Add Them 

As far as I know, whole spices are always used when the 
spices are placed in a sack, and when they are thrown into the 
catsup direct, ground spice is used. It is claimed by some that 
the latter method gives just as good results as the former, and 
that no advantage is to be gained by the use of sacks. As to 
whether or not this is true I cannot say, as I have never used 
ground spices in catsup with the exception of pepper, ginger 
and paprika. The reason for using sacks, of course, is to allow 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 83 

the flavor of the spice to be extracted without having the spices 
come in direct contact with the catsup. If you will macerate 
some ground allspice or cloves in dilute acetic acid for a while, 
you will notice the black substance which is extracted, and it is 
surely reasonable to suppose that at least some of this will 
be extracted in catsup when the ground spices are thrown in 
direct. As for the cassia, there probably would be no objection 
to the use of the spice direct. 

The flavor of mace is lost by continued boiling, and the use 
of it in a sack which stays in the boiling liquid for thirty 
minutes or longer is a waste of the mace. If mace is boiled long 
in direct contact with the catsup it imparts a very bitter taste. 
The proper way to add mace is to throw it in direct in the broken 
form about three minutes before the batch is done. Ginger 
should be added at the same time as mace, as its volatile oil 
passes off very rapidly, and if cooked long it will practically all 
be lost by volatilization. As to the pepper and paprika, they 
are added direct in the ground form at the beginning of the 
cooking. Mustard is also said to be used in catsup, but it appar- 
ently isn't used extensively. 

Use of Spices in Two Batches 

If the whole spices are placed in a sack it is a good idea 
to cook each sack of spices in two batches. In this way more 
of the flavor is extracted than would be taken out by one boil- 
ing. This can be proven by cooking a batch of catsup with 
no spice other than a sack of spices which has been previously 
cooked in a batch of catsup. Note the flavor which is extracted 
by the second cooking, and you will see where you are losing 
valuable material when you throw away a bag of spice residue 
after one cooking. Of course the cook will then have two sacks 
of spices in each batch — a new one and an old one, and he must 
mark them in some way so he can tell which is which when 
the batch is drawn off. A good way is to tie the new sack with 
a single knot, and the old one with a double knot. This method 
seems to be less confusing to the cook than any other. 

It is also important to tie the spices in the sack loosely. 
If a cook is not instructed about this he will invariably tie a 
cord around the sack so close to the spices that there is no 
room for them to move around while the sack is being agitated 
by the boiling. Undoubtedly a better extraction can be obtained 
if the spices have freedom of movement in the sacks. 



84 The Manufacture oe Tomato Products 

What Is Extracted 

What we really get from the spices is a water extract. The 
acetic acid of the vinegar probably extracts a little more, but 
as the vinegar is only cooked in the catsup about three minutes, 
a great deal of extraction could not be expected from that source. 
Not only the volatile oils, but organic compounds called esters, 
and also some of the non-volatile oils are extracted from the 
spices. The volatile oils produce most of the flavor, however the 
esters also add to the flavor considerably. The non-volatile or 
"fixed" oil of cayenne pepper has quite a strong spicy flavor, 
although not nearly as strong as the volatile oil of cayenne. The 
fixed oils of cassia, allspice, and mace have no flavor at all. 

Even though a bag of spices be boiled in two batches of forty- 
five minutes each, a great deal of their flavor is still left in them. 
This has been proven by chemical analyses of spice residues. 
Even quite a large percentage of the volatile oils still remain 
in the spice residue, and, of course, a larger percentage of the 
non-volatile or fixed oils. It is a question, however, as to 
whether the extraction of the volatile oil of these spice residues 
would be a paying proposition. So far as I know, none of the 
distillers of essential oils seem to be interested in them. 

Storing Spices 

Spices should not be held in storage for a long time, particu- 
larly in open bins, as some of their volatile oils pass off little 
by little into the air and are lost. This is especially true of 
cassia, either ground or broken. They should be stored in a dry 
place, as some of them are apt to mold if left in an atmosphere 
of condensing steam, and of course this mold would contaminate 
the catsup to some extent. I have seen mace which was in 
a very moldy condition due to its having been stored in the 
cook room for some time, and having collected moisture. Some 
of the milder varieties of pepper are also known to become 
moldy on exposure to extreme dampness. 

Quality of Flavor 

A great deal could be written about the quality of various 
varieties of the same spice. All of these varieties will not be 
discussed here but I will try to show how the packer is some- 
times mislead by spice salesmen who show chemical analyses 
of their spices as positive proof of the actual value that they 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 85 

contain. As a matter of fact, the true value of a spice cannot 
be shown by a chemical analysis. 

Take, for example, cassia. The finest flavored cassia is the 
Saigon cassia, which can Le obtained in the thin quill, the 
medium bark, and in the thick bark. At the other extreme we 
have the China cassia, which is considerably cheaper than the 
Saigon. If the catsup packer is going to judge his spices accord- 
ing to strength, he may find that he gets more strength from the 
cheap cassia than from the expensive one. The chemical analy- 
sis may show that the China cassia contains more essential oil 
than the Saigon does. In fact, this is often the case. However, 
what about the quality of that essential oil? There is the 
point. The essential oil extracted from the Saigon is different 
from that extracted from the China cassia. It has a more 
delicate, refined flavor. Its flavor is more pleasing to the palate, 
and is free from "harshness," and "strength" of an unrefined 
nature. 

This does not mean that one cannot make a nice flavored 
catsup with China cassia, as such is not the case, but a better 
flavor can be obtained with Saigon. The point is that quality 
of flavor as well as quantity of flavor must be considered. 
Chemical analyses are only of value when exactly the same 
variety of two or more samples of spice are compared. 

When it comes to cayenne pepper, the quality of the flavor 
is not the important factor that it is in the milder spices. 
Cayenne is used to give "hotness" to the catsup, and the hotter 
the cayenne is, the greater its value to the packer. The Mom- 
bassa and the Japan chillies are the hottest, although in recent 
years they have been so expensive that it is more economical 
to use some of the others, even though a slightly larger quan- 
tity may be required. 

For allspice, it is not necessary to use a large, fancy berry, 
but a small size which is fairly free from sticks, stones, and 
decayed or pithy berries will answer the purpose just as well. 
The relative values of samples can be compared by inspecting 
them and noting the percentage of foreign and decayed material. 

As to cloves, it is again not necessary to use a fancy article, 
although all varieties will not impart exactly the same flavor, 
just as in the case of cassia a different flavor is obtained from 
Saigon and China cassia. Some packers like the flavor of the 
Zanzibar cloves, while others give another variety slight prefer- 
ence, chief among which are the Penang, Amboyna, and Pemba. 

Penang and Banda are the fanciest varieties of mace, but 



86 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

some of the other varieties are all right for catsup, with the 
exception of Bombay mace, which has no flavor, and is con- 
sidered an adulterant. 

Use of Essential Oils 

In many cases spices are not used at all, but their essential 
oils are used instead. In other cases both spices and oils are 
used. Some packers object to the use of cloves on account of 
the large amount of tannic acid they contain (usually from 16 
to 20%), which it is thought has a darkening tendency, especi- 
ally if any iron is present, and it is also thought that other 
darkening substances are extracted from the cloves. If the 
essential oil is used, this is avoided. 

Essential oils, when added properly, produce a catsup of good 
flavor, and the product is in every way acceptable. A better 
flavor, however, can be obtained by the use of whole spices. 
A water extract obtained from whole spices is different from the 
essential oil of the spice. It contains the essential oil, part of 
it at least, but it also contains other substances which impart 
flavor. The flavor produced by whole spices is not quite as 
harsh as that produced by essential oils. "Harsh" is not 
exactly the word, but it comes about as close to it as anything 
I can think of. The whole spices impart a wealth of flavor, but 
there is freedom from "strongness," or any faint suggestion of a 
"drugstore taste." I have tasted catsups made with oils in which 
this "drugstore taste" — I use the term for lack of a better one — 
was apparent, and it may have been due to the quality of the es- 
sential oils used, but more than likely was due to the fact that 
they were not properly administered. It is necessary to get the 
oils thoroughly and evenly incorporated into the catsup without 
volatilizing too much of them. 

How to Add Essential Oils 

The best way I know of to do this is as follows: Add the 
oil from a small lipped container, like an 8 oz. glass graduate, 
after the catsup is cooked, that is, just as soon as the steam is 
shut off of the batch, spreading it slowly over the entire surface 
of the catsup, not dumping it in one spot; then turn the steam 
on full, and leave it on five seconds; then shut it off immedi- 
ately, and open the exhaust. This will not make an absolutely 
perfect mixture of the oil in the catsup, but it will do the 
job better than agitators, and by only leaving the steam on five 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 87 

seconds very little of the oil is lost by volatilization. The 
brushing of the catsup through the finishing machine also 
helps in more thoroughly mixing in the oil, and if the catsup is 
then pumped from the finisher to a receiving tank over the 
filling machine, as is often done, the mixing is made still more 
complete by the pumping process. If a number of different 
essential oils are used they are mixed together before adding. 
One large manufacturer whose catsup is well liked uses no 
whole spices at all, even using oleo resin capsicum instead of 
ground cayenne pepper. Oleo resin capsicum is much hotter 
than the ground cayenne, and, of course, a very small quantity 
of it is required. 

Paprika 

Paprika is used to a very large extent in catsup, chiefly 
because of its bright red color, which assists to some extent in 
toning up the color of a catsup that would otherwise be rather 
unattractive because of its brownish cast. If any appreciable 
help is to be obtained from paprika, it must be used in large 
quantity, and it must be of the most brilliant red variety. 
Much paprika has a dull brick or brownish color, and it might 
as well be left out. The use of only a pound of paprika to 100 
gallons of catsup scarcely produces any effect on the color. If 
paprika is used, at least two pounds should be used for this 
quantity of catsup, otherwise it might almost as well be omitted. 
Of course, paprika is a spice as well as a color, and on that 
account it can be used in catsup without any statement on the 
label to the effect that the product is colored artificially. It does 
impart some flavor, but the flavor isn't particularly desirable 
in catsup. If paprika was yellow or brown, instead of red, 
it is doubtful if it. would be used at all in catsup; certainly it 
would not be used extensively. 

Most of the best catsups on the market are made without 
raprika, and these catsups are as a rule the most brilliant in 
color, as they are made almost entirely from fresh tomatoes. 
The color is not killed by a long succession of cooking processes, 
and therefore the use of paprika is unnecessary and would add 
absolutely nothing to the color. 

Paprika is a rather poor excuse for a coloring matter anyway. 
The coloring principle in the spice is not soluble in the catsup, 
and all of the color is retained within the grains of the powder. 
If this coloring principle dissolved in the catsup, as does 
cochineal, the • effect would be very good. The use of paprika 



88 The Manufacture oe Tomato Products 

is very easily detected by pouring out a bit of the catsup on a 
piece of paper, and making a thin layer of it. The grains of 
paprika then stand out very prominently. 

Some catsups are literally "loaded" with paprika, and they 
have a sort of brick color, which is somewhat different from 
the color produced by fresh, ripe tomatoes. This catsup would 
no doubt be brown if so much paprika wasn't used. As to 
flavor, such goods are usually not very good, and are often very 
poor indeed. 

Quantities of Spices and Oils per Batch 

As to the quantity of spices to use per 100 gallons of catsup, 
I would suggest 3 oz. of ground cayenne pepper, iy 2 lbs. of 
medium bark, broken Saigon cassia, 1% lbs. of whole allspice, 
and l 1 /^ lbs. of whole cloves. The cassia, allspice, and cloves 
go in a sack, and the cayenne goes in direct at the beginning of 
the cooking. If paprika is used it is put in with the cayenne. 
If the essential oil of cloves is preferred to the whole spice, 1 
oz. of it will give a pronounced clove taste, although not too 
pronounced. 

If it is desired to use essential oils altogether, with the 
exception of the cayenne pepper, a good mixture is V% oz. oil of 
cassia, 1 oz. oil of cloves, and % oz. oil of pimento. A good 
flavored catsup can also be obtained with the amounts of pepper, 
oil of cassia, and oil of cloves given above, but with no oil of 
pimento. 

It should be remembered that with these oils the most im- 
portant point is the successful administration of them. Giving 
proper quantities to use amounts to nothing if they are im- 
properly administered. In fact, any kind of a formula for mak- 
ing a tomato product amounts to very little in itself. It doesn't 
make any difference how fine a formula a man has, it by no 
means assures a good product. When the formula is obtained 
a bare start is made. In the hands of one manufacturer excel- 
lent results will be obtained with the use of a formula, while 
another man who has practically the same formula will make 
an absolute failure of his manufacturing. 

Essential Oils Economical 

The use of spice oils is more economical as far as the actual 
expense of the formula is concerned, and it is also very conven- 
ient, as you have your flavoring in small packages in a highly 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 89 

concentrated form. As these oils are distilled from spices which 
are wormy, or for some other reason not marketable as whole 
spices, the spice from which they are distilled can be obtained 
very cheap. As a rule the oils are distilled where the spices 
are grown, and only the essential oil is imported. In order 
to make the oils comply with the regulations of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia, it is usually necessary to re-distill them here, 
as they often contain lead from being transported in lead con- 
tainers. 

Adulteration of Ground Spices 

If ground spices are used they should be bought from a con- 
cern of very high standing, as their adulteration is by no means 
an uncommon practice. Deception is, of course, difficult in whole 
spices. Such adulteration as the use of ten or twenty per 
cent of ground pepper shells in ground pepper has frequently 
been discovered by government chemists. Ground olive stones, 
sawdust, brick dust, ground cocoanut shells, and many other 
inert substances have also been found in ground spices. Adulter- 
ation can almost always be detected by either microscopical or 
chemical examination, but there have been cases where the 
adulteration has been so cleverly done that the only way it 
could be verified was by detective work on the part of govern- 
ment agents. 

Onions and Garlic 

Onions for catsup need not be carefully peeled, as a little 
peeling will not impart any foreign taste. It is well, however, 
to remove that part of the peeling which is dry and comes off 
easily. The finishing machine will remove that portion of the 
peeling which is left. 

The sweet Bermuda onions are not as good for catsup as are 
the stronger kind, as it takes too many of them to impart a 
distinct onion flavor. The onions should, of course, be washed 
if they are not clean when taken from the sack. Some firms 
use an onion washing and peeling machine and they like the 
machine very much. A coarse grinding of the onions is suf- 
ficient. 

Some packers use garlic and some do not. Garlic is treated 
in exactly the same way as onions but should be ground rather 
fine. The cloves of the garlic should be removed from the 
enveloping tissue, but it is not necessary to separate the indi- 
vidual cloves from the hard, fibrous coating which surrounds 
them. 



90 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

Onions and garlic should be added as soon as all of the 
tomato juice for the batch is boiling in the kettle. For a 100 
gallon batch, two gallons of chopped onions and V 2 lb. of ground 
garlic are about the right amounts. Ground onions and garlic 
should not be left standing over night, as they get black and 
lose their flavor. In cases where some are unavoidably left 
over, they should be covered with vinegar and salt. 

Sugars 

The sugars most commonly used in catsup are granulated 
cane, clarified cane, granulated beet, and raw, unrefined sugars. 

The purest of these are granulated cane and granulated beet, 
which are equally good. There is a prejudice against beet 
sugar by many people in the east, who think it is not as good as 
cane sugar, but this is a mistaken idea. Any food chemist will 
tell you that they are the same, and are equally good. All granu- 
lated sugar, whether cane or beet, must contain at least 99.5% 
of sucrose (pure sugar) to comply with the federal standard. 
And remember that sucrose is sucrose, whether derived from 
sugar cane or sugar beet. Almost all granulated sugar will 
test 99.8% sucrose, which is slightly above the minimum estab- 
lished by the government. This leaves a negligible quantity of 
impurities, which in the case of beet sugar are derived from 
the beet, and in cane sugar from the cane. If there is any 
difference between the two sugars it lies in this very minute 
quantity of impurities and such a difference can surely not 
be objected to. Granulated sugar, whether cane or beet, is the 
purest food article in commerce. 

Clarified cane sugar is not quite as pure as granulated, but 
when used in catsup will make equally as good a product as 
granulated will; however, as the percentage of sucrose is not so 
high, a little more of it has to be used. A considerable saving 
can often be made by buying clarified instead of granulated 
sugar, but the purchase should be made on polariscope test, 
so the buyer knows exactly what he is getting. 

Raw sugars are slightly less pure than clarified, although 
there is very little difference between the best grades of raw 
sugar and clarified. Good centrifugal raw sugar will contain 
about 9G.5% of sucrose. The lower grades of raw sugars should 
not te used, as they are dark and will darken the catsup to 
some extent, but there is scarcely any color to the better grades, 
and they give good results. The use of raw sugars often permits 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 91 

quite a saving on the sugar bill. They should be bought on 
polariscope test, and when received should be tested against the 
sample on which they were bought. 

Sugar Syrups 

"Cane sugar syrups" have for several years been offered to 
canners and preservers, and they are advertised to be equal 
pound for pound to granulated sugar and to be considerably 
cheaper. The samples of these heavy, colorless syrups that I 
have tested have contained a considerable percentage of invert 
sugar, and also moisture. The moisture is, of course, worthless, 
and as the invert sugar is less sweet than sucrose it is ridiculous 
to claim that such a product is equal in sweetness to granu- 
lated ugar. These syrups are said to be used by some catsup 
makers, however the saving that is effected by their use is prob- 
ably imaginary. 

The sugar can be added at any time after all the tomato 
juice for the batch is boiling in the kettle. Some prefer to 
add it at the end of the batch so as to run less danger of scorch- 
ing; however, if the coils are clean, and there is a good head 
of steam, and the taps are working right, there need be no fear 
of burning, even if the sugar is added twenty minutes before 
the batch is done. The sugar should be put in small pails or 
boxes, so that it can be scattered easily over the surface of 
the boiling pulp. If it is put in heavy containers it is apt to 
be dumped in one spot, and may not all dissolve, as much of it 
may fall in a lump below the coil where the circulation is 
not good. 

If the coils or traps are not working properly, or the to- 
matoes are a little green, and the cook is having trouble with the 
catsup burning on the coils badly, it is advisable to not add 
the sugar until a few minutes before the batch is done. 

If 10% gallons of 100 grain vinegar are used to a 100-gallon 
batch, about 105 pounds of granulated sugar will be required. 

Use of Sugar in Large Quantities 

It should not be thought that extra sugar is going to increase 
the volume of catsup in proportion to the volume of extra sugar 
added. I am reminded in this connection of a conversation 
I had with a large catsup packer, in which we were discussing 
the large amount of sugar and vinegar required to insure the 
keeping quality of non-preservative catsup, as compared with 



92 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

the amounts usually used in benzoate goods. This packer made 
non-preservative goods altogether, and he surprised me by 
remarking: "What if we do have to use a hundred pounds or 
so more sugar to the batch; we buy the sugar at 8c a pound, and 
sell it for about lie a pound in catsup. Where do we lose any- 
thing?" I was surprised at the remark because I thought he 
should know better than that. If catsup was bought and sold 
by weight that argument might hold good. However, regardless 
of the fact that the net weight in pounds and ounces avoirdupois 
is always stated on the label, the public buys catsup by volume. 
Your pint bottle may hold 17 oz. avoirdupois, or it may hold 
18 oz ; however, in the eyes of the consumer it is a pint, and 
it will not bring more money because its net weight is slightly 
greater than that in the pint size of some other brand. It is 
the same way with the 10 oz. and 11 oz. sizes. The public buys 
by volume. When we quote prices on the larger sizes, it is so 
many dozen No. 10 at so much per dozen, or so many dozen 
gallon jars at so much per gallon. Who cares what the net 
weight is in the No. 10 can, or the gallon jar, as long as the con- 
tainer is full — or as full as it should be? 

Therefore, the subject of gain or loss caused by the addition 
of extra sugar resolves itself into the question of the additional 
volume produced. If I add a hundred pounds more of sugar 
per batch, how much will my volume be increased? That is the 
question. It is one which I cannot answer definitely, and I have 
never seen any figures on it, but I can say this much — that every 
pound of sugar added to catsup in excess of the minimum amount 
required is a very great loss to the packer. A 5-gal. pail of granu- 
lated sugar will not add anywhere near five gallons to the catsup. 
One gallon will come nearer to it. The reason for this is that 
the sugar dissolves in the tomato juice, and although it increases 
the specific gravity of that juice, it adds very little to its volume. 

As to the extra vinegar which must be added to counteract 
the sweetness of this extra sugar, this is an absolute loss as 
far as volume is concerned. The catsup must be reduced to a 
definite thickness, no matter how much vinegar is used, and if 
more vinegar is used, more water must be boiled out to allow 
for the thinning down caused by this additional vinegar. 

Salt 

An air dried salt of a fair degree of purity (about 98 per cent 
on a moisture-free basis) is perfectly satisfactory for catsup. 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 93 

The purer salts are often desirable in the canning of vegetables 
where lime and magnesia are apt to have a toughening or hard- 
ening effect, but in catsup a very small quantity of lime and 
magnesia salts have no ill effect. 

Salt should be added a few minutes before the vinegar is put 
in. It is desirable to add the salt toward the end of the cook- 
ing, as it acts to some extent on the copper of the coil or ket- 
tle. Great care should be used in so adding the salt that it 
will all dissolve. I have often seen a large mass of undissolved 
salt in the bottom of a cooking tank after a batch of catsup 
was let down, even when the salt had been thrown in a half 
hour before the cooking was completed. The reason for this 
was that the salt was thrown in without scattering it, and it 
fell quickly to the bottom of the tank in one mass. Owing to 
the fact that the circulation below the coil was poor, and that 
salt does not dissolve readily in boiling water or boiling tomato 
juice, a large proportion of it remained undissolved. 

Salt is less soluble in hot water than in cold water. It should 
be placed in small containers, such as small pails or boxes, so 
that it will be light in weight and can easily be scattered over 
the surface of the boiling pulp. If this is done, and done slowly, 
there is no need of agitating devices to dissolve the salt. Agi- 
tators are also unnecessary to dissolve the sugar if it is added 
in this way, although sugar dissolves more readily than salt. 

Thirty pounds of salt is about the right amount for a 100- 
gallon batch. 

Vinegar 

The kind of vinegar usually used in catsup is the strong 
distilled vinegar— about 100 grain, which contains 10 per cent 
of acetic acid. The stronger the vinegar, the better, as the 
weaker vinegars require too much volume to be handled, and 
dilute the catsup too much when they are added. 

Most manufacturers buy their vinegar in barrels. However, 
some of the larger ones have it shipped in tank cars from which 
it is pumped at the factory into a large storage tank, and 
siphoned off as needed. This is the better way when it is used 
in large enough quantities to warrant buying it in this manner. 
Barreled vinegar often contains very finely divided charcoal, 
which is sometimes hard to strain out; the barrels are often 
full of nails from which the vinegar dissolves iron, and this 
iron, in combination with the tannic acid of spices, produces a 
chemical compound (iron tannate) which is as black as ink; 



94 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

and sometimes the barrels contain some foreign liquid, which 
was left in them when they were filled with vinegar. The use 
of barrels also requires a lot of handling, and the waste by 
evaporation through the wood is considerable when the vinegar 
is held over a long time. One might imagine that the evapora- 
tion from a large storage tank would be greater than from bar- 
rels. However, such is not the case, as there is much more 
surface per gallon for evaporation in the barrel than in the 
large tank. Vinegar shipped in tank cars is free from con- 
tamination and is easily and economically handled. Barreled 
vinegar should always be strained through fine cheesecloth. 

Transference of Vinegar 

The use of steam pumps and ejectors, in fact any kind of 
steam appliance for hoisting vinegar, should not be used, as 
the steam passes into the vinegar, dissolves in it, and dilutes it. 
If you pump 100-grain vinegar into a storage tank with a steam 
pump you may find that you have 90-grain when you get it up 
there. If it is necessary to pump the vinegar, and it usually 
is, a small electric pump should be used. Either enamel lined 
or wooden pipe should be used for vinegar. All iron pipe and 
fittings should be eliminated. 

Adding the Vinegar 

Vinegar should be added about three minutes before the batch 
is done. To do this it is usually necessary to cook the catsup 
just a shade heavier before the vinegar is added than it will 
be when it is done. If a hydrometer is used, about two degrees 
is enough. Five minutes should be the outside limit for cooking 
the vinegar. Vinegar is a volatile liquid and vaporizes rapidly. 
It should therefore only be cooked long enough to insure its be- 
ing thoroughly incorporated in the catsup, and three minutes 
boiling is ample for this purpose. For a 100-gallon batch, lO 1 /^ 
gallons of 100 grain vinegar is about the right amount, and when 
properly added will give an average total acidity of about 1 25 
per cent calculated as acetic acid. 

Acidity 

It should be understood that this total acidity will by no 
means be constant, as there is such a great variation in the 
natural acidity of tomatoes. Tomato pulp made from tomatoes 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 95 

all grown in the same locality, and condensed to a specific 
gravity of 1.035, will run as low as 0.40 per cent in natural 
acidity, and as high as 0.70 per cent. This will cause the total 
acidity of the catsup to vary accordingly. When in doubt as 
to whether you are getting the proper acidity, send samples 
to a chemist and have the acetic acidity determined. This is 
the acidity of the vinegar alone. It should not run below 0.G0 
per cent. This figure should be taken as the absolute minimum 
for acetic acidity. 

Testing the Finishing Point 

For testing the finishing point of catsup I recommend either 
testing by the eye or the hydrometer method as described un- 
der the testing of pulp. The eye cannot often be relied upon, 
although some experienced cooks are very good at judging by 
the eye, and they do not need a mechanical device of any kind. 
The specific gravity determination by weight, and cooking to 
a certain gauge, or for a certain length of time, will not do at 
all for catsup. I have used the hydrometer method on catsup 
for a number of years, and it is entirely satisfactory. A little 
experimenting will indicate the number of degrees on the 
hydrometer, when immersed in the hot catsup, at which the 
catsup is heavy enough so that it will be of the right thickness 
when cold. After this point has been determined every batch 
should be almost exactly alike if it is cooked to this point. 

Holding Batches 

Catsup should not be held in the cooking kettle very long, 
as the sugar is apt to caramelize where the catsup is in contact 
with the hot surface of the kettle or coil. Also, the air darkens 
it somewhat. Of course, if the jacket or coil is completely ex- 
hausted, and the valves are absolutely tight, there should not 
be this burning or caramelization while holding a batch. How- 
ever, there is often a very slight leak in the valve, and the coil 
or jacket is thus kept hot constantly. The quicker the cooked 
batch is let out of the kettle, the better. 

Making Catsup From Pulp 

Many catsup makers make their catsup from pulp alto- 
gether. They feel that during the season they have their hands 
full packing pulp, and they can work this pulp up into catsup 



96 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

during the winter months when there would otherwise be little 
or nothing to do. When pulp is used, about 29 5-gal. cans of 
specific gravity 1.035 is sufficient for a batch of catsup of 100 
gallons. Do not add water to the pulp, even if it is a little 
heavy. The only danger from not getting a very long cook is 
that there will not be a very complete extraction of the spices, 
when whole spices are used in a sack. If, however, each spice 
bag is cooked in two batches, this danger is greatly minimized. 
The question now arises — if I am making catsup from pulp 
which has been put through a catsup finisher I am working 
with material which is screened fine, whereas my hydrometer 
test is based on tomato juice from my cyclone, which is coarser 
than this, and this finely screened stuff will give me a different 
hydrometer reading. If you cook your catsup to, say, 32 de- 
grees, when making it direct from cycloned tomato juice, you 
will probably find that 28 degrees is enough when making it 
from pulp which has been put through a catsup finisher. The 
finisher makes this much difference. 

Use of Benzoate of Soda 

The use of benzoate of soda in catsup permits of the use of 
a much smaller quantity of vinegar and sugar than is used in 
non-preservative goods. About 3 gallons of 100 grain vinegar 
to a 100-gallon batch is all that is usually used, and this only 
makes it necessary to use about 50 lbs. of sugar. 

The benzoate of soda is added just about a minute before 
the batch is done. 

It should be remembered that if T Vth of 1% of benzoate of 
soda is being used, this percentage is by weight, and that a 
gallon of cold catsup weighs 9 or 9% lbs., depending upon the 
amount of sugar that is used. 



CHAPTER X 

FINISHING, BOTTLING, STERILIZING, AND STORING 
THE CATSUP 

The Receiving Tank and Finisher 

From the cooking kettles the catsup is usually run through 
the finisher, and then conducted to a receiving tank, either by 
gravity or by pumping. If a pump is used, care should be taken 
that the pump parts which come in contact with the catsup 
are of bronze. Needless to say, enamel lined pipe should be 
used. The receiving tank should be either of wood, or enamel, 
or glass lined steel. 

Regarding the finishing of the catsup, the action on the 
metal screen is more severe than in pulp, and it is best to 
use a monel metal screen. It will usually be noticed that the 
frothy catsup which collects at the large end of the cone of 
the screen blackens quickly. This is probably due to the air, 
and this catsup should be scraped off into a pail as it collects, 
and mixed back in the cooking kettle, just giving it a minute 
cook. It is also very important to see that the screen fits 
absolutely tight, and to frequently inspect it for small cuts 
which are often made by pieces of tin or glass accidentally get- 
ting into the catsup. 

Filling and Sealing 

If the catsup is to be sterilized after bottling it is usually 
just run through an ordinary enamel lined pipe from the re- 
ceiving tank to the filling machine, but if it is not to be given 
an after-sterilization a steam-jacketed pipe should be used here. 
This will be discussed further later in the chapter. 

Rotary fillers are being used quite commonly for catsup now, 
and they do the work rapidly, with little waste, and with a 
small labor outlay per gross for bottling. The more simple 
types of fillers, operated either with a foot or hand lever, are 
less expensive, and also do the work quite well, although not 
as rapidly as the rotary fillers. 

The empty bottles should be washed in hot water on a 
[97] 



98 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

rotary bottle washing machine, and filled directly after wash- 
ing if an after-sterilization is to be used. If the catsup is not 
to be processed after bottling, the empty bottles should be 
given a hot air sterilization after they are washed, and the 
bottles conducted to the filling machine from the sterilizer. 

If an automatic rotary filler is used, the bottle capping 
machine is usually regulated to operate at the same speed as 
the filler, and the whole line becomes automatic. The type 
of closure most commonly used now is the crown style, either 
plain or of the self-opening type. The cork is getting to be a 
thing of the past for catsup. These closures come either with 
a composition cork insert or with a solid cork insert, the for- 
mer being a little cheaper, and for catsup it is just as good. 
For chili sauce, or any bottle having a wide mouth, I do not 
like the composition cork insert, as the vacuum produced in 
a wide-mouthed bottle on cooling is too great a strain on the 
composition, and is apt to cause it to crack. For narrow- 
mouthed bottles such as catsup, the composition cork is all 
right. 

Washing the Filled Bottles 

Whether or not an after-sterilization is used, the filled bot- 
tles should be run through a warm water bath immediately 
after sealing to wash off any catsup which adheres to the 
outside of the bottle before it has a chance to bake on. If this 
water bath has a couple of jets of compressed air entering it 
to keep the water vigorously agitated, the bottles will come out 
nice and clean. Of course, a continuous flow of clean water 
must be allowed to pass into the bath, with an overflow at the 
opposite end. If bottles of catsup are put into processing tanks 
with catsup adhering to the outside of the bottle, the soluble 
rart of the catsup will be dissolved in the process water but 
there will be flakes of insoluble tomato fiber floating in the 
process water everywhere, and these will bake on the bottles 
so hard that it is very hard to remove. After a few days this 
condition in the process tanks becomes very bad, and the bottles 
become increasingly hard to clean. If the bottles are clean 
when they are put into the tanks, and the tanks are clean, they 
will come out of the tanks clean and ready to be labeled. 

Processing 

The process method is probably used by the majority of 
catsup packers, first, because they feel that an after-steriliza- 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 



99 



tion is an insurance which is well worth paying for, and they 
can have more peace of mind knowing that they have processed 
their goods; second, because by processing carefully and intel- 
ligently the color and flavor of their goods will be scarcely 
effected except when made from pulp which is a little over- 
cooked-' third, because they don't know much about packing 
catsup 'so that it will keep without processing, and they don't 
care to experiment, as they feel that in the end the experiment- 
ing may prove disastrous to their business. 

In this attitude no one can blame them. There is nothing 
more trying on a manufacturer than having complaints on fer- 
mentation coming in from every corner of the country. The 
natural inclination is to let well enough alone, and take no 

cY\ e\ T1C6S 

At the same time it must be admitted that thousands of 
ca=es of catsup are being manufactured every day without 
processing, and it is giving little or no trouble. Those who 
use this system say it is a waste of time and money to process, 
and that years of experience have shown that processing is un- 
necessary. 

Advantages of Omitting Processing 

There are certain advantages in not processing. In the 
first place a better colored and flavored product is often ob- 
tained, particularly if the catsup is made from pulp, and espe- 
cially is this true if the pulp is a little overcooked, and conse- 
quently a little dark in color. Then there is the advantage of 
the saving on labor and on steam, which is a large item. Run- 
ning a half dozen or more process tanks constantly draws 
heavily on the steam supply, and the processing means more 
handling of the bottled product, and therefore more labor. It 
also means more equipment, with the floor space which this 
equipment takes-not only a lot of tanks, in case stationary 
tanks are used, but iron baskets to hold the bottles, electric 
or steam hoist, and trolley track. Not only the original cost 
but the maintenance of this equipment is considerable. Then 
there is a certain amount of breakage during processing. Also, 
steam must be kept up late at night for no other purpose than 

^When^no after-sterilization is used all of this is done away 
with and the only equipment needed to supplant the above is 
a steam-jacketed pipe to conduct the catsup to the filling ma- 
chine and a continuous hot air sterilizer for the bottles, which 



100 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

usually consists of a vertical shaft, and takes up practically no 
floor space. 

Process Method 

I will discuss in detail the process method first. The catsup 
should be filled as hot as possible, and it is a good idea to use 
a steam-jacketed pipe in this case, as well as in the non-process 
method, because the hotter the catsup is when bottled, the 
quicker the center of the bottle will be raised to the desired 
temperature, and the quicker the sterilization can be accom- 
plished. The catsup should be 180 degrees or above when it 
enters the tank of the filling machine, and it should be placed 
in the process tanks as soon after sealing as possible. 

The process tanks may be large stationary iron tanks, or a 
continuous pasteurizer such as is used in beer bottling plants 
may fce used. The latter is the better way, as it is compact, 
automatic, takes up very little floor space, and there is no dan- 
ger of over-sterilization, or of scorching by leaving the bottles 
in the tanks after the water is drawn off, where the air can- 
not get at them to cool them off. The reason continuous pas- 
teurizers are not used more commonly is their expense, although 
they should pay for themselves in a few years by the labor 
and steam they save, it being only necessary to keep one large 
tank in operation instead of a half dozen or more. 

If stationary tanks are used, which is usually the case, the 
catsup should be taken out of them as soon as the water is 
drawn off, so that the air can get at the bottles and cool them 
off. To leave the hot, bottled catsup in the tanks over night is 
almost as bad as piling a lot of hot pulp close together, the only 
difference being that there is a little more room for air circula- 
tion between the catsup bottles, but not much. 

Time and Temperature 

There is a great difference between the time and tempera- 
ture employed for processing in different factories. Some pack- 
ers process as low as 170 degrees F., it is said, while others 
use a temperature very close to the boiling point. In some 
plants pint bottles receive only a 30-minute process, while in 
others they get over an hour. 

The proper time to use depends upon the temperature that 
can be maintained at the filling machine, and the rapidity witn 
which the processing can be done after the filling. If the packer 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 101 

can hold his catsup around 180 degrees at the filler, and is so 
equipped, either with continuous pasteurizers or stationary 
tanks, that he can process immediately, an hour is ample time 
for pints, and 45 minutes is sufficient for half-pints; other 
sizes accordingly. If, however, the temperature of the catsup 
at the filler often falls to 170 degrees or below, and the catsup 
is filled faster than it can be processed, so that at times much 
of it must stand for an hour before it can get in the process 
tanks, 15 minutes additional for each' size bottle had better he 
added to the above. 

This may seem to some packers like a long time. All one 
has to do to convince himself that it is not too long is to take 
one of those thermometers which are made especially for de- 
termining temperatures at the center of the bottle, and put it 
in a bottle of catsup while it is being processed, watch the 
mercury rise, and note the time it takes to bring the center of 
the bottle to the temperature of the water surrounding it. You 
will find that if the water surrounding a pint bottle is 200 1 de- 
grees, and the temperature at the center of the bottle is 1G0 de- 
grees, it will take just about an hour to bring the catsup at the 
center of the bottle up to 200 degrees. 

As to the proper temperature, I do not see why as high a 
temperature as is possible without breaking the bottles should 
not be used. Why some packers process at 170 degrees or 180 
degrees I do not know. They certainly have not carefully in- 
vestigated the effect of their processing. The temperature I 
prefer is six degrees below boiling. At sea level this would be 
206 degrees. This temperature will not break the bottles, but 
the steam pipes entering the tank should be so arranged and 
perforated that there will be as even a distribution of steam 
as possible. If these pipes are not properly arranged, there is 
apt to be as much as 6 degrees variation in the temperature 
at different parts of the tank. 

Several years ago I made a large number of tests to de- 
termine the number of micro-organisms that remained alive in 
bottled catsup after processing at 206 degrees F., as compared 
with the number which remained alive in catsup bottled from 
the same batch and processed at 200 degrees P. for the same 
length of time. The difference was surprising. I expected some 
difference, but not nearly as great as was shown by the tests. 
That which was processed at 200 degrees for an hour con- 
tained quite a few living molds, yeasts, and bacteria per cubic 
centimeter. This was shown by plating out samples bac- 



102 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

teriologically on culture media — the media used being dextrose 
agar and wart agar. The catsup from the same batch processed 
one hour at 206 degrees contained scarcely any living micro- 
organisms at all per cubic centimeter. This test was repeated 
a number of times with the same result each time. These 
micro-organisms may have been in the form of spores in the 
catsup, but developed into the vegetative forms of molds, yeasts, 
and bacteria when placed in the culture media. 

Temperature Controlling and Recording Devices 

The process tanks should all be equipped with temperature 
controllers and recording thermometers. The controller holds 
the steam at the right point, not allowing the temperature 
to vary more than 2 degrees, if it is a good make. Several 
years ago it was impossible to find a temperature controller 
which operated without compressed air that would hold the 
temperature closer than a variation of 10 degrees, which is 
too wide a variation for catsup pasteurization. The compressed 
air controllers worked very well but required an air com- 
pressor where the pressure must be held within certain limits. 
and air pipes to connect with all the controllers. Some plants 
did not have the air equipment, and in cases where it was put 
in the pipes gave more or less trouble due to the collection of 
moisture in them and to occasional grains of dust or rust from 
the air tank which lodged in the controller and threw it off. 
It is now possible, however, to obtain controllers which will 
operate with almost no variation from the temperature desired, 
and which require no compressed air for their proper func- 
tioning. Under these conditions there is hardly an excuse for a 
manufacturer to operate his plant on the old system of hand 
control of the steam valves, with the resulting losses in manu- 
factured goods due to pure reliance on human efficiency. 

The recording thermometer makes a pen and ink record on 
a chart showing the temperature and length of time each tank 
of catsup is given, or, if a continuous pasteurizer is used, it 
shows up any variations in the temperature of the water in that 
pasteurizer during the day. The factory manager can look at all 
of these charts in the morning, and know positively that every 
bottle of catsup was processed the right length of time, and at 
the right temperature. If any mistakes were made the chart 
will show it, and it will show at just what time the mistake 
was made, and how serious it was. It is a great satisfaction to 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 103 

have such a record, and the processor invariably takes great 
pride in making a perfect chart. 

Non-Process Method 

When no after-sterilization is given, it is imperative that 
the catsup be very hot when filled. Boiling catsup runs about 
214 degrees F. in temperature, and although running it through 
the finisher and receiving tank cools it down somewhat, if it is 
heated in a long jacketed pipe while being conveyed from receiv- 
ing tank to filling machine it should not be below 180 degrees 
at the very lowest when filled, and if it can be filled hotter 
than that, so much the tetter. As to the pipe above mentioned, 
the smaller the pipe, and the larger the steam jacket, and the 
higher the steam pressure, the greater will be the heating ca- 
pacity of this jacket on the catsup. After a little experiment- 
ing these points can be adjusted to give the proper result. If 
the jacketed area is short, of course a higher steam pressure 
must be used than if this area is long. 

Some packers of non-processed catsup use a jacketed tank 
or kettle directly over the filling machine to hold the catsup at a 
high temperature while it is awaiting bottling, with a very 
short line of enamel pipe going from it to the filling machine. 
If this is used, a jacketed pipe is not needed. 

Guesswork should be eliminated. Do not assume that you 
are getting the right temperature on your catsup when it is 
filled, and do not be satisfied with going up to the filler once 
or twice a day, dropping a thermometer in the liquid, and wait- 
ing for the temperature to record itself. Put a recording ther- 
mometer in that tank just over the filling tubes, with the dial 
in a prominent place, so that you can step up to it at any time 
and know what the exact temperature of that catsup has been 
every minute of the time for the past ten or twelve hours. 

If this is done there is no chance of escape on the part of 
the man who is supposed to watch this temperature, and if he 
knows his work is being recorded every minute on a chart 
he is going to be mighty careful. 

The empty bottles, when placed in the filling machine, should 
be clean and practically sterile. After they have passed around 
the rotary bottle washer, and had a thorough washing with 
hot water, they are placed in the hot air sterilizer neck down, 
so they can drain. The best kind of sterilizer is an endless 
chain carrying trays to hold about a dozen bottles each, and 



104 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

enclosed and protected by either wood or metal. The sterilizer 
should be vertical, so that it will not occupy much floor space, 
and inside of the wood or metal covering are steam pipes fitted 
with a temperature controller or thermostat so that a tempera- 
ture of about 250 degrees F. can be maintained. The speed of 
the endless chain is so regulated that it takes about 30 min- 
utes from the time the bottles enter the sterilizer until they 
come out. 

Needless to say, the filling machine should be kept 
scrupulously clean, and before being used in the morning, or 
for the afternoon run, should be thoroughly steamed out so that 
it will be hot and practically sterile to receive the first batch 
of catsup. 

As to the bottle closures, if they are kept in covered 
barrels in a clean place and not allowed to be contaminated by 
dust, etc., it is not considered necessary to sterilize them, al- 
though they could no doubt be given a hot air sterilization very 
easily if it was thought necessary. I have seen thousands of 
cases packed without sterilizing the closures, and the catsup 
never gave any trouble. 

After applying the closure the bottles are rinsed off in a 
warm water bath, and are then ready to be labeled and cased. 

Which Method Is the Better? 

Now comes the question which is of vital importance to every 
packer — what am I going to do — give my catsup an after- 
sterilization or not? I believe the answer to that question should 
depend upon the conditions under which the packer operates. 
I do not believe either method is to be recommended universally, 
but that there are many cases where it is better not to process, 
and other cases where processing is advisable. 

If a manufacturer makes his product at a large central plant, 
where he can count on reliable and fairly intelligent help at all 
times, and where he is so equipped that he is not bothered with 
frequent breakdowns and delays during the day's run, he should 
give the non-processing method his careful consideration, and 
I believe he will profit by adopting it. If, on the other hand, 
he has many plants scattered all over the country, many of 
them dependent to a large extent on an indifferent class of 
help, with little experience or intelligence, or he has a lot of 
wornout equipment, and has several breakdowns almost every 
day in the bottling department, he had better insure his product 
by processing. 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 105 

If I were building a new plant or remodeling an old one, 
I would most certainly arrange to eliminate processing if I could 
count on a fairly good class of help. 

Labeling and Casing 

Most bottles are labeled by machine. The machines do the 
work much faster than can be done by hand, and also do it 
neater as a rule. However, in most cases it is necessary to 
have someone to adjust the neck band after the bottle leaves 
the machine. Sometimes they are wrapped, and sometimes not. 
Wrapping in transparent tissue makes a very attractive pack- 
age, and it will modify the effect of strong light, which some 
manufacturers think has a discoloring tendency if the catsup 
is exposed to it a long time. 

Both wood and fiber cases are used for catsup, and the fiber 
cases seem to do all right where the contents do not weigh 
over about 40 lbs. If they weigh more than that it is usually 
considered advisable to use wood cases. 

Stacking Catsup to Avoid "Black Neck" 

In CHAPTER VIII mention was made of the darkening in 
the neck of the bottle, called "black neck." It was stated that % 
this was usually due to the fact that the closure is not abso- 
lutely air tight, and allows the air to very slowly filter into the 
space in the neck, which should be a vacuum if the seal is per- 
fectly tight. This condition can be partly avoided by printing 
the cases so that when the case is stacked right side up the 
catsup will be neck down in the case. Therefore, the vacuum 
space will be at the bottom of the bottle, instead of at the neck, 
and there is no chance for air to filter into the neck because 
the body of the catsup is right up against the closure. When 
these cases are shipped out and stacked in a warehouse, the 
catsup will always be bottom up as long as the cases are right 
side up. In all probability the bottles will remain in this posi- 
tion until the case is unpacked by the retailer and the bottles 
are placed on the shelves. 

Packing Gallons and No. 10's 

Packing catsup in gallon glass jars and enamel lined No. 
10 cans is very similar to packing it in bottles. These sizes 
can either be processed or not processed, and the same prin- 



106 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

ciples apply as in packing the smaller sizes. If no process is 
given, the containers should be put through a hot air sterilizer, 
just as the small bottles are, and the catsup should be very hot 
when filled. 

With glass jars the breakage is often very great, and they 
must be heated slowly and carefully, and placed on a warm 
wooden surface when they are filled. A metal surface beneath 
the jars will almost always cause a lot of breakage due to the 
fact that it chills so easily. For the closure a cork is usually 
used, and the process should not exceed 180 degrees, as a higher 
temperature will cause the corks to pop out. A process of two 
hours is sufficient for gallon jars. 

If No. 10 catsup is given an after-sterilization, iy 2 hours in 
boiling water is sufficient. It must be understood that it takes 
much longer for the heat to penetrate to the center of a can 
of catsup than it does with pulp, as the catsup contains sugar 
and salt and is heavier in specific gravity. After sterilization 
the cans should be cooled gradually in water, and allowed to re- 
main in the water until they only have sufficient heat left to 
allow the water to evaporate from the surface of the can and 
prevent rusting. 



CHAPTEK XI 

THE MANUFACTURE OF CHILI SAUCE AND THE 
PULPING OF TOMATO TRIMMINGS 

Chili sauce is the finest tomato product manufactured. It 
differs from catsup in that it is made from whole peeled toma- 
toes with the seeds and fiber left in, and in that it usually con- 
tains more onion than catsup, and is usually a little ''hotter." 

Grading the Tomatoes 

For chili sauce the tomatoes are peeled as they are for can- 
ning. As a rule they are run over a grader and only the large 
ones are used for peeling, the small ones being pulped or made 
into catsup. It does not pay to peel the small tomatoes, as it 
requires too much labor, and the women who do the peeling 
at so much per bucket try to fight shy of them, and often mash 
them up in their buckets to avoid having to peel them. They 
will make just as good pulp or catsup as the large tomatoes 
will, and much more can be got out of them in this way than 
if an attempt is made to get them peeled. 

Sometimes the small tomatoes and the peelings of the large 
tomatoes are pulped together. If this is done the whole small 
tomatoes tone up the flavor of the peelings, and also help to 
keep the final product within safe limits as to microscopical 
count. 

Some packers throw away the peelings, either because they 
are so busy with the whole tomatoes that they can't bother 
with them, or because they are afraid the pulp which they are 
worked up into will run high in micro-organisms, and they 
don't want to have such pulp on their hands. 

Method of Handling Tomatoes 

The usual method of handling the tomatoes is to run them 
first over a sorting belt, where they are inspected by several 
women, then over a grader, which lets the small tomatoes fall 
through on to a belt which conveys them to a washing ar- 
rangement, and thence to the "breaking tanks," or to the pulp 

[107] 



108 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

machine, or the crusher, depending upon which pulping method 
is used. The small tomatoes may or may not be given a second 
sorting. 

If the trimmings are to be thrown away, the large tomatoes 
don't need to be sorted, as the peelers will take care of that, and 
in this case a good way is to put all the tomatoes through a 
rotary washer first, then over a grader, and have the small 
tomatoes carefully sorted after the grading is done. The large 
tomatoes pass from the grader to the scalder, and thence to 
the peeling table or "merry-go-round," where they are peeled. 

The best method to use if the trimmings are to be pulped 
will be discussed later in the chapter. 

The peeled tomatoes are thrown into a cutting machine 
which cuts them into good-sized chunks, and drops them on a 
bucket conveyor which takes them to the cooking kettles. The 
cutter should be so adjusted that it will not make the tomatoes 
mushy. A few fair-sized pieces of tomato in a bottle of chili 
sauce is nearly always pleasing to the consumer. 

It is important that the peeling be thorough. Each bucket 
should be inspected before the tomatoes are thrown into the 
chopper. Pieces of peeling in chili sauce are very noticeable 
when the product is used, and make an unfavorable impression. 

Amount of Tomatoes and Onions 

It takes just about 72 fourteen-quart buckets of peeled toma- 
toes of average firmness to make 100 gallons of finished chili 
sauce. For this same amount about 100 lbs. of chopped onions 
should be used. The onions should be very carefully peeled, 
and very finely chopped. If this chopping is not done fine 
enough the pieces of onion will stop up the tubes of the filling 
machine. It is best to use only large onions for chili sauce, 
as it takes a great many women to peel the required amount 
if small ones are used, and the waste on the small ones is 
considerable when the peeling must be done so thoroughly. 

The cooking is carried out the same as in catsup, and the 
same ingredients are used, with the possible exception of garlic, 
which, so far as I know, is not often used in chili sauce. 

Spices 

The spicing is very similar to catsup. In some brands about 
twice as much cayenne is used as was suggested for catsup, while 
other brands are spiced mildly. One of the best liked brands 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 109 

on the market is quite mild, and another brand which is equally 
popular is quite hot. 

Salt, Sugar and Vinegar 

The same amounts of salt and vinegar are used as in catsup, 
and they are added in exactly the same manner. About 10 lbs. 
more of sugar is needed for a 100-gallon batch than is used in 
catsup. This is probably necessitated by the large amount of 
onions used. 

Testing Finishing Point 

Testing the point at which the cooking is completed must 
be done by the eye. The hydrometer can not be used, as chili 
sauce is too lumpy. A hydrometer can only be used when the 
product is smooth and homogeneous. By a little experience 
the cook will soon learn to judge the finishing point. It is 
that point at which very little water runs from the lumps of 
tomatoes when the chili sauce is hot, and practically no free 
water shows when a little of it is cooled in a saucepan. In my 
opinion the finishing point of chili sauce is easier to judge by 
the eye than it is on catsup. 

Filling, Sealing, and Sterilizing 

As to filling, sealing, sterilizing or not sterilizing, labeling, 
stacking, etc., the same remarks apply to chili sauce as to 
catsup. The filling is somewhat more difficult, as the product 
is lumpy, and a special filling tube must be used. As to whether 
an automatic rotary filler similar to that used for catsup is ever 
used for chili sauce I do not know. I have always filled it with 
one of the old style catsup fillers, using a special filling tube. 

On account of the fact that a wide-mouthed bottle is used, 
there is even more danger of air leakage in the neck of the 
lottle, causing "black neck," than there is in catsup. It is a 
common sight to see chili sauce with an inch, or even two 
inches, of blackening at the top of the bottle. Sometimes the 
very finest quality of cork is used, and then paraffin is put over 
that, but even then we find that this darkening is not avoided. 
I recommend the same procedure here as was given when dis- 
cussing this subject on catsup. 

If a crown seal, either plain or of the self-opening type, is 
used as the closure, a pure cork insert should be used. As 
mentioned in a previous chapter, the composition cork insert 



110 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

does not work as well on wide-mouthed bottles as it does on 
those with a narrow mouth. 

The remarks which were made on the packing of No. 10 and 
gallon catsup also apply to the packing of chili sauce in these 
sizes. 

Microscopical Counts 

The counts of molds, yeasts and spores, and bacteria in chili 
sauce usually run very low. I have never seen a sample that 
ran high in molds, and very few that ran high in the other 
counts. The molds seldom run higher than 10, and counts of 
zero are often obtained. This is because practically all of the 
mold in tomatoes is on the outside and clings to the peeling. 
When the peeling is removed the mold is removed. As the 
peeled tomatoes are usually cut and cooked immediately after 
they are peeled, there is very little opportunity for the multi- 
plication of yeasts and bacteria. 

Pulping the Trimmings 

Trimming pulp, or "skin and core," as it is sometimes called, 
is made from that part of the tomato which is removed when 
the tomatoes are peeled. This consists of the peeling, with the 
tomato substance which clings to it, and the hard core at the 
stem end of the tomato. 

In as much as practically all of the mold in or on the toma- 
toes is retained in the trimmings, it is not an easy matter to 
work these trimmings up into a product which will mark up 
to the government requirements, and do it economically. If 
the tomatoes are firm and largely free from cracks around the 
stem end it is not so bad, but when they come in badly cracked, 
with tufts of mold growing in all the cracks, as is often the 
case late in the season, the amount of labor required to prop- 
erly sort them makes the working up of trimmings un- 
profitable. 

When the trimmings show up fairly well, and the labor to 
handle them is available, there is no reason why the chili sauce 
packer or tomato canner should not utilize what would other- 
wise be a waste by turning it into pulp or "trimming catsup." 

Government Attitude on Trimming Pulp 

The government does not object to the manufacture of 
tomato products from trimmings, but they demand that the 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 111 

product comply with the regulations as to micro-organisms, and 
that it be sold for exactly what it is, and if put up for sale to 
the consuming public, that it be labeled — "made from pieces of 
tomatoes," or, "made from tomato trimmings," or, if small 
tomatoes are worked up with the trimmings, "made from small 
tomatoes and tomato trimmings," or, "made from small tomatoes 
and pieces of tomatoes." 

Method of Handling Tomatoes When Trimmings Are Pulped 

If the trimmings are to be pulped the tomatoes must be 
very carefully sorted, and thoroughly washed, preferably in a 
rotary washer. As it is practically impossible to sort or wash 
the trimmings, the tomatoes must be in almost perfect condi- 
tion when they enter the scalder. Washing the trimmings car- 
ries away too much of the tomato substance which clings to 
them, and sorting is not practicable, as the soft rot and mold 
becomes incorporated in the entire mass and it is impossible to 
separate it. The peelers can not be depended upon to sort out 
any substantial amount of rot when they do the peeling. There- 
fore the only thing that can be done toward keeping down the 
micro-organisms is painstaking sorting of the whole tomatoes 
and thorough washing to keep out the mold, having the con- 
veying equipment and tanks clean, and bringing the trimmings 
to a boil quickly to prevent multiplication of yeasts and bac- 
teria. It is wise to steam out the peeling buckets and bucket 
conveyors at noon, as well as at quitting time, as the juice which 
lies in them is constantly undergoing fermentation. 

When the trimmings are pulped, either alone or with the 
small tomatoes, the tomatoes are all washed and sorted before 
they are graded. The trimmings should be cooked before they 
are run through the pulp finisher, so as to get all of the clinging 
tomato substance cooked away from the skin. The density to 
which to cook the trimmings can be judged fairly well by the 
eye, or the specific gravity test by weighing can be used. 

The pulp is canned the same as whole pulp. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE MANUFACTURE OF TOMATO SOUP 

Convenience and Economy of Canned Soup 

Canned tomato soup is a commodity which is increasing in 
favor with the housewife. The old method of preparing this 
soup in the home -was to open a can of tomatoes, strain it 
through a colander, and stew it, adding butter, salt, sugar, 
spices, flour, and perhaps soda and milk. The modern way is 
to immerse a can of condensed tomato soup in boiling water for 
five minutes, open it, and mix the contents with an equal vol- 
ume of hot water or hot milk. How much more convenient the 
modern way is, and when the quality is just as good and often 
better than can be obtained the long troublesome way, it is 
natural that canned tomato soup should become increasingly 
popular. Buying the canned soup is also cheaper than buying 
the canned tomatoes and making the soup from them. 

Factors Upon Which Success Depends 

The maker of tomato soup should be a crank oh quality. 
There is no other tomato product in which quality is at a 
greater premium. In catsup and chili sauce, heavy spicing and 
mixing with lots of vinegar and sugar help to mask the 
tomato flavor, but in soup the spicing is light, no vinegar is 
used, and being eaten as a food in itself, instead of as a condi- 
ment with which to flavor a food, the palate quickly detects 
inferiority. Also, the palate is just as quick to detect that 
pleasing fresh tomato taste which should be the basis of all 
good soup. 

The quality of the tomato stock is the real important thing. 
Fresh tomatoes may be used or a fine grade of pulp may be 
used, and either will make an excellent soup. With poor tomato 
stock a good soup cannot be made no matter what you do to 
it. Spicing artistically, and making rich by the use of plenty 
of good butter, will not make amends for poor quality of tomato 
stock. 

[112] 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 113 

To succeed in making tomato soup the manufacturer must 
at least make good on the following counts: first, his soup must 
be palatable, that is, pleasing, to the taste with no lingering un- 
pleasant after-taste; second, it must not be too sweet or too 
sour; third, it must be uniform in consistency, smooth when 
poured out of the can, and must not get lumpy or grainy after 
being in storage a long time; fourth, it must not curdle fresh 
milk, even though the housewife adds no baking soda when 
mixing milk with it; fifth, it must be reasonable in price and 
attractively packed in popular sizes. 

Unpalatability 

I will discuss these points a little further. What makes 
tomato pulp unpalatable and what causes an unpleasant after- 
taste? The most common cause is poor tomato stock, or tomato 
stock which has been overcooked. Such a foundation for soup 
will almost invariably leave a lingering unpleasant after-taste 
in the mouth. Another thing is t too much flour, masking the 
flavor of the tomato and giving it a somewhat "pasty" taste. 
Another thing is the injudicious use of spices, producing un- 
popular flavors, or using one spice, such as bay leaves, for in- 
stance, in such large proportion that almost every other flavor 
is masked. None of these defects are rare in tomato soups, and 
they all cause unpalatability to some extent. 

Proper Sweetness 

Getting proper sweetness is not nearly so easy as one might 
suppose. It is not so difficult when the soup is made from 
fresh tomatoes, although even then every batch must be tasted 
after all but a few pounds of the sugar is added, and the 
amount of sugar varied according to the sweetness of the toma- 
toes. When the weather is moderately dry, with plenty of sun- 
shine, the tomatoes are usually sweet and do not require so 
much sugar, but tomatoes which ripen during rainy, dark, cold 
days are not so sweet, and a little more sugar is needed. 

When making soup from canned pulp it is necessary to 
watch the sweetness of the pulp very close, and it may be 
necessary for the cook to vary the sugar on a 100-gallon batch 
ten or fifteen pounds during a day's run. Canned pulp often 
varies greatly in sweetness, and if held in storage for many 
months it often loses some of its sweetness on account of the 



114 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

action of living, acid forming bacteria, which may not be pres- 
ent in large amount, but nevertheless, in time, have a noticeable 
effect on the sweetness of the pulp. 

When pulp is purchased for the purpose of making soup 
its sweetness should be one of the first considerations in passing 
judgment on it. 

Gradual Souring of Pulp 

When the soup manufacturer makes his own pulp and works 
it up into soup during the winter months he will probably find 
that he will save on his sugar bill if he will pack the pulp 
in No. 10 cans and sterilize it — at least that part of the pulp 
which must be held in storage several months. In this way 
living, acid forming bacteria are killed, and the danger of the 
pulp losing its sweetness during months of storage is greatly 
minimized. 

The fact that the gradual souring of pulp in 5-gal. cans, even 
though very slight, is due to the action of living, acid forming 
bacteria can hardly be doubted. Bacteriological tests supple- 
mented by chemical analyses would determine the matter 
definitely, but there is evidence in the experience of every can- 
ner to show that this souring is due to the fact that the pulp 
is not sterile. 

Canned tomatoes are always sterilized and can be kept in 
storage for years without losing their sweetness. Pulp packed 
in 5-gallon cans is not sterilized and quite a fair sized per- 
centage of it will lose much of its sweetness on being stored for 
six months, and after being stored a year still more is lost. 
It takes hundreds of pounds of expensive sugar to make up 
for this loss of sweetness when the pulp is made into soup. 

Sampling 

Of course, a cook is not infallible in his judgment as to 
just what is the right sweetness and he needs the co-operation 
of others at the factory. The factory manager should make it 
a point to sample the soup several times a day, and also to 
have others sample it. It is better to have it just a little less 
sweet than it should be than to have it too sweet. The con- 
sumer can always add a little sugar but cannot take any out. 

The third point mentioned above — that of uniform con- 
sistency and smoothness, will be discussed fully under the cook- 
ing and shaking processes. 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 115 

Proper Acidity 

I stated as the fourth point that the soup should not curdle 
fresh milk, even though no soda is added by the housewife. 
One of the favorite ways of preparing canned tomato soup m 
the home is to mix it with an equal quantity of hot milk. The 
experienced housewife knows enough to add a pinch of 
soda to the milk before adding the soup, and she may also know 
that she will get a smoother mixture if she slowly pours the 
soup into the milk, stirring constantly, than if she pours the 
milk into the soup. The inexperienced housewife does not know 
these things, and often she opens the can and mixes it with 
milk without reading the admonition on the label as to how 
the cream of tomato soup should be prepared. Sometimes she 
forgets to add the soda, or does not thoroughly dissolve it, or does 
not add enough of it, and then there is disappointment. In order 
to guard against such disappointments the soup canner should so 
prepare his product that curdling of the milk cannot occur under 
any method of mixing. The way to do this is to add enough soda 
to the soup to reduce the acidity to a point where it will not curdle 
fresh milk, whether the soup is poured into the milk or the milk 
into the soup. The canner can then print a notice on the label 
of the can to the effect that it is not necessary to add soda to 
this soup when preparing it as "cream of tomato," as the soda 
is already in it. . 

The acidity of the tomato is the active principle which 
causes the milk to curdle. If this acidity runs 0.60% it will 
curdle the milk badly. If it is reduced to 0.50% it will still 
curdle the milk, but if it is reduced to 0.40% it will not curdle 
the milk, if the milk is fresh. The aim of the soup maker 
should therefore be to keep the acidity of the soup between 0.30 
and 40%, not allowing it to go above or below these limits. 
If it is reduced below 0.30% the flavor of the tomato begins to 
be effected— in fact, if possible, it is best to keep the acidity be- 
tween 0.35 and 0.40% to avoid any possibility of loss of tomato 

flaV Now, the packer will ask— "How am I going to do this 
acidity testing? I'm not a chemist, and have no chemist 
at my factory, or any laboratory." The acidity test on 
pulp and soup is a very simple one. The equipment required 
scarcely amounts to anything, as the sample can be taken by 
volume Any chemist will be glad to show you how to make 
this test and to secure for you the few accessories needed. 



11G The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

Why is there less danger of curdling if the soup is poured 
into the milk than if the milk is poured into the soup? The 
soup contains all the acid, and the milk contains none. If the 
soup is poured into the milk slowly, with stirring, the acid is 
slowly added to the milk, and is diluted, there being at the be- 
ginning of the mixing a very small volume of acid and a large 
amount of milk. If, however, the milk is added to the soup, a 
small volume of milk is at first being thrown into a large 
volume of acid, and naturally the danger of curdling is con- 
siderably increased. But if the acidity of the soup is not above 
0.40% and the milk is fresh, there will not be an appreciable 
amount of curdling no matter which way the two are mixed. 
A statement as to the proper way of mixing with milk should 
be made on the label. 

Price and Quality 

That the soup, to be a success, must be popular in price 
and packed in convenient sizes is self evident, and there is no 
need of dwelling on this point. Practically all of the tomato 
soup on the market is packed either in the 10y 2 oz. or 16 oz. 
size, and almost all of it is cheap in comparison with other 
foods, but it is a mistake to cut the quality one iota in order 
to shade the price. The mark for quality should be set at the 
highest point possible and the price to correspond. The canner 
may book a lot of new business with a low price and mediocre 
quality but he is not likely to hold it. Almost anyone would 
rather pay a cent a can more and get better quality. 

Microscopical Counts 

The first operations in soup making are the same as in pulp. 
The same care must be taken in sorting and washing the toma- 
toes, and the government authorities put soup on the same basis 
as other tomato products when it comes to microscopical analy- 
sis. The fact that soup contains flour and butter makes the 
counting of yeasts, spores, and bacteria under the microscope a 
difficult operation. The molds, however, show up almost as 
well in soup as they do in pulp. 

Beginning the Cook and Adding Soda 

The tomatoes must be cycloned before they are converted 
into soup. Crushed tomatoes^ will not do. The cycloned juice 
for each batch is measured in the same manner as for catsup, 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 117 

and any of the types of cooking kettles that are used for catsup 
are satisfactory for soup. For a 100 gallon batch of finished 
soup, using the amount of flour I am going to recommend, about 
28 or 29 bushels of tomatoes will be required. As soon as all of 
the tomato juice for the batch is boiling in the cooking kettle the 
soda is added. The amount of bicarbonate of soda to use de- 
pends upon whether the soup is being made from fresh tomatoes 
or pulp, and if made from pulp the soda should be varied ac- 
cording to the pulp's acidity. It is nearly always necessary to 
use more soda in pulp than in fresh tomatoes, and if the pulp 
is old goods which has lost much of its sweetness, and in which 
the acid has been increased by the slow but telling action of 
living bacteria, still more soda must be used. 

For fresh tomatoes 18 to 20 oz. of soda is enough for a batch 
of 100 gallons when finished, but for pulp, as high as 30 oz. 
may be required. If it takes more than this to reduce the acidity 
of the pulp to the proper point, that pulp had better be used for 
some other purpose than soup. There is a limit as to the amount 
of soda that can be added without loss of tomato flavor. 

The soda is added a little at a time while the pulp or tomato 
juice is boiling. The cook must allow considerable room for 
effervescing, so that the formation of the carbonic acid gas will 
not cause much of the contents to be lost by flowing over the top 
of the kettle. Cutting the foaming tomato juice with a sharp 
spray from the hose will help to keep the effervescing mass down. 

Butter, Spices and Onions 

After the effervescence from the addition of the soda has 
stopped, the butter, spice, and onion are added. Of course, the 
more butter that is added the richer the soup will be, but the 
idea should be to give the soup the butter flavor without adding 
so much that the cost will mount up beyond a reasonable 
limit. I would suggest G or 7 lbs. of butter to 100 gallons 
of finished soup. The butter will so thoroughly distribute 
itself during the boiling that every drop of the soup will 
contain practically the same amount. It is not necessary to 
use a fancy print of butter. If the butter is a little mottled, 
or the salt isn't quite as evenly incorporated in it as it should 
be it makes no difference, as the butter fat and salt all become 
evenly distributed in the soup after boiling for a minute or 
two. The butter, however, should be sweet and clean. Rancid 
butter should not be used. 



118 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

Soup should not be heavily spiced, as many people do not 
like highly seasoned soups, and if it isn't hot enough for some 
consumers they can add as much pepper as they want to. So far 
as I know the spices most commonly used are white pepper, 
paprika, cassia, mace, cloves, bay leaves, and celery salt. Black 
pepper should not be used at it makes black specks in the soup 
which are apt to be mistaken for dirt. About 7 oz. of white 
pepper to 100 gallons of finished soup will give it sufficient 
spiciness. If paprika is used this can be cut down somewhat. 
Cassia, mace or cloves are used in small amount, 1 oz. of either 
being ample. 

Pepper, cloves, and cassia are added at the beginning of the 
cooking and mace is added just a few minutes before the flour. 
It is said that celery salt gives tomato soup a very nice flavor 
but I have never tried it. Some people like bay leaves, but I 
have tasted canned tomato soup with a very decided bay leaf 
taste which I thought was about as poor as any soup I have 
ever tasted. 

The onions are chopped the same as for catsup, and i lbs. 
is about the right amount for 100 gallons of soup. 

Sugar and Salt 

The sugar can be added at any time after the spices, butter, 
and onions, but about 5 lbs. should be held back from the average 
amount being used, figuring that we are cooking a 100 gallon 
batch, and after the sugar and salt is in, the contents of the 
kettle should be tasted before the balance of the sugar is added. 
It may be that the last 5 lbs. are not needed, or it may be that 
all of it is needed and also an additional 5 lbs. For fresh 
tomatoes about 25 or 30 lbs. of sugar may be sufficient for a 100 
gallon batch, and for pulp it may be necessary to use as much 
as 50 lbs. or even GO lbs. in some cases. 

After the condensation has continued until the boiling mass 
is of the consistency of thin pulp the salt is added. The same 
grade of salt is used as for catsup, and about 14 lbs. is the 
right amount. The sugar and salt should be put in small con- 
tainers or pails and scattered slowly over the surface of the 
boiling pulp. 

Testing Thickness Before Adding Flour 

Now the contents of the kettle contain all of the ingredients 
except the flour and the water which is mixed with the flour 
when it is added. Before this flour mixture is added the con- 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 119 

tents of the kettle must be condensed to a definite thickness. 
If this thickness is not measured with a fair degree of accuracy 
the finished soup will either be so thick that it will be lumpy 
in the can, even after shaking, or it will be so thin that the 
housewife is apt to feel that she is getting cheated when she 
pours the soup out of the can. The object to attain should 
be to have the soup as thick as the consumer could reasonably 
expect, but at the same time to have it of such consistency that 
it will pour out of the can easily and smoothly. Nobody wants 
soup that will come out of the can like a brick, but at the same 
time they expect condensed soup to be reasonably thick. 

I prefer to gauge the point at which it is time for the flour to 
be added with a hydrometer. The use of the hydrometer here is 
subject to the same precautions as were described under the 
testing of pulp, and it is used in the same way. Whatever 
reading pulp of specific gravity 1.04 gives on the hydrometer 
you use, that is the reading you should take for the point at 
which to add the flour mixture on soup. If you follow this rule 
you will come out all right. We will say that pulp of the degree 
of fineness you have reads twenty degrees on your hydrometer 
when it is at a specific gravity of 1.04. Then twenty degrees on 
this hydrometer is the point at which the flour mixture should 
be added on soup. 

It might occur to you that it would be a good idea to use 
the specific gravity test by weighing to determine the point 
at which to add the flour. This would work all right if you 
used the same amount of sugar all the time, but as varying 
quantities of sugar will vary the specific gravity without ma- 
terially varying the thickness of the pulp, using the specific 
gravity test by weighing at this point is apt to throw you off. 
This varying amount of sugar will have a slight effect on the 
hydrometer reading also, but not enough to make an appreciable 
difference. What you really want is to have your partially 
completed soup at a uniform thickness before adding the flour, 
rather than at a uniform specific gravity. Thickness and soe- 
cific gravity do not always correspond. Tomato fiber may be 
very thick and still have a rather low specific gravity, and it may 
be thin and have a high specific gravity due to the fact that it con- 
tains added sugar in solution. For determining the point which 
we are trying to gauge, the hydrometer is much less apt to throw 
you off the track than is a specific gravity test by weighing, as 
increasing thickness will change the hydrometer reading very 
quickly but will only alter the specific gravity slowly. 



120 The Manufacture of Tomato Products 

We will say that we have found out that 20 degrees on the 
hydrometer is the proper point at which to add the flour mixture 
— that this degree of thickness, with the added thickness pro- 
duced by the flour mixture, produces a soup, which when cold 
and well shaken, will be thick enough, but will also pour out of 
the can easily and smoothly. We test the boiling liquid several 
times; it runs 14 degrees, then after a few minutes 18 degrees, 
then 20, and it is time to add the flour. 

Adding Flour 

The flour must be smoothly mixed with water in a flour mixer 
with sifter attachment. For a 100 gallon batch of soup I would 
recommend 40 lbs. of hard flour and 13 gallons of water. The 
hard flour seems to give the best results. The water is placed 
in the bottom of the mixer and the mixing attachments (paddles 
and sifter) set in motion either by a separate motor or by a belt 
from a line of shaft. The flour is then poured through the 
revolving sifter and is brushed through as a fine powder, which 
the paddles slowly work into the water without allowing lumps 
to form. When the total amount of flour is added to the water, 
and the paddles have worked the mixture up smooth, the flour 
mixture is added to the boiling contents of the kettle, either 
in pails or by means of enamel lined pipe running from the 
mixer to the cooking kettles. The contents of the kettle should 
be at a vigorous boil when the flour is added, and the flour 
mixture should not be thrown in so fast that it will kill the boil. 
During this process the boiling mass should be stirred vigorously 
with a long paddle. After all the flour is in the kettle the boil 
is continued for ten minutes, after which time the batch of 
soup is done and ready to be let down into the finishing machine. 

Filling and Processing 

From the finisher it is conducted to a receiving tank, and 
thence to the filling machine. A large volume of soup should not 
be kept ahead in the receiving tank as it cools and may get 
somewhat lumpy. The hotter it is canned, the better, and 
it should be placed in the process tanks immediately after 
canning. 

It is usually canned in No. 1, 16 oz., and No. 10 cans, and is 
filled with a rotary filling machine of the type used for heavy 
liquids. 

It may be processed either in straight process tanks or in 



The Manufacture of Tomato Products 121 

a continuous agitating pasteurizer. If the straight stationary 
tanks are used the following time is given in boiling water: 
No. 1, 30 minutes; 16 oz., 40 minutes; No. 10, 1 hour. If a 
continuous agitating pasteurizer is used this time can be cut 
down about 60%. 

As soon as the processing is completed the cans should be 
gradually cooled in cold water and left in the cold water until 
the outside has cooled sufficiently to allow them to be handled 
easily. On account of the flour it contains soup holds its heat 
a long time, and it should be properly cooled before stacking 
away. 

Shaking and Labeling 

Before shaking and labeling it is wise to let the soup stand 
for about ten days, both to give leaks a chance to show up, 
and to give the contents of the can a chance to thoroughly "set." 
If the soup is shaken too soon after it is canned there is a possi- 
bility of it coagulating again, but this will be avoided if the soup 
is allowed to stand long enough before shaking — 10 days being 
ample. 

Before the soup is shaken it will be in a jelly-like mass, and 
if dumped out of the can just as it is it will have this jelly-like 
appearance and look lumpy. Shaking makes it smooth, and also 
makes it flow easily from the can. The shaking should be 
thorough, and the type of shaking machine that is used for 
canned corn answers the purpose better than anything. Shak- 
ing by hand is very tedious and trying on the employee, and 
as a rule hand shaking isn't as thorough as it should be. The 
shaking is done at the same time as the labeling, and from the 
shaker the cans pass through the labeling machine without a 
second handling. The small sizes are usually nacked four dozen 
to the case, and the No. 10's six cans to the case. 



"TAG" INDICATING THERMOMETERS 

FOR TOMATO PULP BOILING, CATSUP 
KETTLES, SCALDING TANKS, PASTEUR- 
IZERS, STERILIZERS, TANKS, VATS, Etc. 

have been especially designed to meet 
the exacting requirements of tomato 
product manufacturers and represent the 
ultimate perfection of 150 years of ther- 
mometer development and progress. 

Permanent accuracy is guaranteed be- 
cause each tube is "seasoned" to prevent 
future false readings due to shrinkage 
of the glass. 

Actual temperature conditions are repro- 
duced similar to those which the instru- 
ment will encounter in later use due to 
the "TAG" method of "pointing" and 
making a special scale for each ther- 
mometer. 





Bulletin T-305 will provide 
further details of interest 

C. J.TAGLIABUE MFG. CO. 

18-88 Thirty-third Street 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 




Adjustable Clamp 
Hook. 




Adjustable 
Connection 
Thermometer 



"Regular Anqle 
Union Connects 



tun 



StraiaKiTorrn. /& p ble 
Jixed Connection. Flange 



122 




"TAG" Recording Thermometers 

For Cookers, Scalders, Pasteurizers, 
Sterilizers, Vats, Tanks, Etc. 

are extremely accurate and reliable because 
they have been designed along sound and 
correct principles, also due to their simplicity 
of construction. 

Uniformity of results is assured because these 
instruments faithfully record every temper- 
ature operation, day or night, thereby pro- 
moting efficiency and helpful competition 
among the workmen in their efforts to pro- 
duce praise-worthy charts. 
Made in both full-nickeled bronze and ja- 
panned iron cases with nickel ring, in 8, 10 and 
12-inch sizes, with 12, 24-hour or seven day 

charts. 

For further details write for 
Bulletin T-305 

C. J. TAGLIABUE MFG. CO. 

18-88 Thirty- third St Brooklyn, N. Y. 




[123 




Variable Speed 
Transmission 



is ideal for regulating the speed of your Tomato Sorting 
Belt. You can get any speed even to a fraction of a 
revolution at any time by simply turning a small hand 
wheel It is so simple that even a child can operate it 
and get variation as low as two to one or as high as 
ten to one. It is admirably adapted for regulating not 
only the Tomato Sorting Belt but Cappers, Fillers, Ex- 
hausters, Pea Blanchers, Viners or any kind of vege- 
tables or fruit packing machines where a variation of 
speed is desired. 

Write for Canner's bulletin C-170 and see how other 
Canners have profited by the use of "THE REEVES" 
Variable Speed Transmission. 

REEVES PULLEY COMPANY 



Col, 



Indii 



[124] 



Members of 

Wholesale Grocers' Exchange, Chicago 
National Pickle Packers' Association 
National Kraut Packers' Association 
National Canned Goods and Dried Fruit 
Brokers' Association 



C. J. Sutphen C& Co. 

Brokers and Manufacturers' Agents 

140 North Dearborn Street 
CHICAGO 



Pickles Vinegar 

Sauer Kraut Canned Goods 

Tomato Products 



Twenty-five Years' 

Experience 

Pickles and Condiments 



Jeffrey Canning Machinery 

I tic hides a complete 
line of 
Peeling- Tables. 
Conveyers for handling all 

kinds of materials. 
Chains — all types. 
Power Transmission Ma- 
chinery. 
Sprockets — Buckets. • 
Write for Catalogues 




The Jeffrey Binless Peeling 
Table. Absolutely Sanitary. 
Built in sizes to accommo- 
date 4 4 to 400 peelers. 



The Jeffrey Manufacturing Co. 

940 N. 4th Street Columbus, Ohio 



125 





JL 


i&^iitlw 












Pfaudler Cooking Kettle 

For Tomato Pulp, Catsup, Chili Sauce, 
Tomato Soup, Etc. 

This tank is 72 inches in- Quick cooking. 

side diameter, 72 inches 

deep and has a capacity of No burning. 

1,336 gallons. It is made t i- j 

in one piece of sheet steel Lon s «veu. 

without any joints or crev- Easily cleaned. 

ices, and is lined with . , , 

Pfaudler Glass Enamel. It Always ready tor use. 

may be equipped with any p r *» v #»nt« Hkrnlnratinn nf 
standard coil. rrevents discoloration ot 

The outside and bottom the product due to 
should be insulated with mptallir rnntaminatinn 
asbestos to prevent loss of metallic contamination. 

heat by radiation. 

Lined with Pfaudler Glass Enamel 

ch?caS rk The Pfaudler Company 

San Francisco ».»■■»'« 
Detroit Rochester, New York 

St. Louis 



126 




Hot Tomato Pulp and Catsup 

(For holding at predetermined temperature 
after cooking- and while awaiting- bottling.) 

The Jacket is connected with a small expansion tank 
and is thus kept filled with water. Steam is passed 
into the coil in the jacket heating this water. This 
method of heating has been found to give a close con- 
trol of temperature so that super-heating of the con- 
tents is avoided. 

The Brass Agitator gives a slow, thorough mixing 
without violent disturbance of the contents and thus 
avoids driving off the more delicate aromatic flavors. 



Lined with Pfaudler Glass Enamel 

Can be had in different capacities from 150 gallons 
upwards. 



New York 

Chicago 

San Francisco 

Detroit 

St. Louis 



The Pfaudler Company 

Rochester, N. Y. 



[127 




|A.eLA8.-@EHAMEUD | 

JSaUIPMENT 



'The Acme of Canning Apparatus" 

gLYRIA GLASS ENAMEL — tough, elastic, a part of the 
fiber of the steel itself — is the ideal equipment for the 
manufacture of tomato products. The sanitary qualities of 
glass and its acid-resisting properties are combined with 
the rugged wearing qualities of steel. Seams, rivets, crev- 
ices for the lodgment of waste substances are eliminated, 
and the smooth, hard, polished interior of the tank presents 
the finished surface of a glass bowl and can be cleaned 
easily, quickly and absolutely. 



Send for our Special Bulletin of Canning Apparatus 
will prove interesting and instructive 



The Elyria Enameled Products Co. 



New York 
Chicago 
Pittsburgh 
San Francisco 
Los Angeles 



Elyria, Ohio, U. S. A. 



[128 



Kelso Pulp and Catsup Finishing 
Machine 




A Machine adapted 
for making- Tomato 
Pulp for Catsup and 
for finishing Catsup 
and for preparing 
Fruit Products such 
as Apples, Plums, 
Prunes, Strawberries, 
etc., for canning. 



Victoria Paring 
Machine 

For Peeling Onions, 
Potatoes, Beets Sweet 
Potatoes, Horse Rad- 
ish Roots, etc., in large 
quantities. Working 
Capacity 1 bushel per 
minute. Saves 75% 
labor and 25% ma- 
terial. 
Send for our Catalogue 
of Special Machinery 
and supplies for 
Cider and Vinegar 
Manufacturers, 
Picklers, Canners, 
Preservers, 
Bottlers. 



KELSO & COMPANY 

559 W. Quincy St. Chicago, 111. 




[129 



World Can Labeler 




An up-to-the-minute machine, made by manufacturers of broad 
experience in various kinds of labeling problems. 

Quickly adjustable to different sizes. 
Only one kind of gum needed. 
No dripping of gum— no wasted labels. 
Speedy and durable— mechanically correct. 

You should know all about it. 
Send for particulars. 

Economic Machinery Co. 

Worcester, Mass. 

Makers of the well-known World Labeler for 
bottles, jars, tumbleis, and other packages 



[130 




SPRAGUE WORKS — THE HOME OF THE SIGN OF QUALITY 

Builders of Complete Equipment 

for Canning and Preserving 

Plants 

The only manufacturers who are prepared 
to supply your requirements in canning fac- 
tory machinery, complete, in every detail, 
backed up by thirty years of experience and 
a money back guarantee of satisfaction. 

Sprague Canning Machinery Co. 

General Offices : Chicago, 111. 
Factory: Hoopeston, 111. 



Eastern Branch: 

Sheppard Supply & Equipment Co. 
37 So. Charles St., 
Baltimore, Md. 



Western Agents: 

Premier Machinery Co. 
16 California St., 
San Francisco, Cal. 



131 



\f]^m^f^efM^ ^aGl^RGlfTl 






I 




NO 

COMPRESSED AIR 

skilled; LABOR OR 

COSTLY SPOILAGE 



TAG" 



a 



SELF-OPERATING 
TEMPERATURE 
CONTROLLERS 



fl) Uniform processing, an economic necessity 

y in the manufacture 6i tomato products, de- 

m pends upon a uniform temperature constantly 

W maintained within the cookers. 

|I| Fluctuating temperatures, common to hand 

y regulation of the steam inlet valves, therefore, 

[J] must be eliminated. 

<e A simple solution is provided by installing 
(ij 'TAG" Self-Operating Temperature Con- 
W trollers — a device which requires no corn- 
ill pressed air and is so simple to operate that all |J| 
W the workman need do is to u set n the controller W 
m for the desired temperature and "forget it." |j| 

W Pasteurizing, sterilizing, etc . to an efficient degree y 

[jj can also be easily accomplished with these anti- (jj 

1g| spoilage and self-paying controllers. [gJ 

(j| For further details ask 

[gJ for Bulletin T-386 \Si 

[| C. J. TAGLIABUE cTVlFG. CO. (£ 

£s 18-88 Thirty-third St., Brooklyn, N. Y. ^ 

[132 1 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 423 078 4 



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